Shattered Mirror
by MorbidCupcake
Summary: What if Shion was a girl named Ashton? What if she had a twin? How much would change? How much would stay the same? Well, now you can find out.
1. Prologue

What do you do when everything you thought you knew turns out to be a lie?

It's 2021 and the utopian city, No. 1, has a prisoner on the loose.

Ashton Taylor was what people called a Super Elite – instead of excelling in only one category (athletics or intelligence), she excelled in both. Thanks to this, she, her twin brother, Aaron, and their mother have been able to live in luxury since Ashton was merely two years old. However, when one of the first typhoons attacked No. 1, she met a boy known only as Shere. Despite knowing that he was a fugitive running from the law, she treated his wounds and gave him a place to sleep that night. The next morning, the boy was gone without a trace. Because she harbored a fugitive without informing the Ministry of Peace, Ashton was stripped of her title and forced to move to Lost Town, one of the lowest levels in No. 1.

Five years later, Ashton is sixteen and working at her job when she notices something strange. One of her coworkers dies suddenly, going from a young woman to an old lady in a matter of seconds. But that's not the end of the bizarreness. Only minutes after her death, an infectious, parasitic insect flies out of her neck. After notifying the authorities, they forcefully take her to the Correctional Facility – a place where only the worst criminals go – on murder charges. But Shere suddenly appears and saves her, taking her back to his "house" in West District, a rundown city just outside of No. 1. Unsure of what's going on, but determined to figure it out, she starts unraveling the truth behind No. 1. And Shere's haunting past. The two are connected, but how? And does Ashton really want to know or is it better to live in ignorant bliss? One thing's for sure: Things aren't what they seem…

* * *

><p><em>Shattered Mirror<em>

**Escaped Prisoner; Drowned Kitten**

The darkness enclosed him and his followers, probably blinding them, but his eyes were wide, taking in the dark turns and murky water. This was his area of expertise. The darkness, he was familiar with. The smell of rotting flesh and sewage, he was used to. The idiot creatures following him had no idea was it was like to survive under these circumstances. He might actually have a chance.

Of course, even if they couldn't see, they were still shooting their guns.

One bullet managed to hit, going through the meaty part of his upper arm and into the concrete wall behind him. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep the burning pain bottled inside of him. The longer he stayed hidden, the better, which meant there was no time for noise.

The cascade of bullets seemed to pause, only to start up the sound of watery footsteps.

They were actually entering the sewer.

The little tiger smiled wryly. Damn persistent bastards.

He stood up straight, getting off of the comfort of the cold, concrete wall, and bolted deeper into the tunnel. The sewage was soaking his already tattered and ripped clothes and his dark hair was starting to stick to his face. His legs were going numb, probably from running so much within the last two hours, and his heart was pounding in his head. Of course, none of that matched the burning pain in his arm. The stick liquid oozing down was starting to drip past his fingers and in the water. Maybe they would think he bled to death if he let it drip long enough. Then again, maybe he would bleed to death. Anything was possible at this point.

Another barrage of bullets ricocheted off the walls, creating small sparks and giving the larger creatures little light.

So they were smarter than he thought.

_Give up_. A sick voice said in the back of his mind. _You're going to die either way. There's no hope. No one's coming to save you. No one even cares that you're alive._

His legs suddenly gave out on him and he collapsed into the water, tired and in pain.

_See? You're tired. Just close your eyes and sleep. Death isn't awful for those who know when to give up._

It sounded pretty good to him. After all, even if he did survive, he'd seen the extent of humanity's so called kindness. The "utopian city" was a bunch of bullshit and the people in it were no better. Death would've been a blessing compared to the living hell he was in. But, stubborn as he seemed to be, his body wouldn't take defeat. Shakily, he stood up, taking in another stale breath. Funny. His mind and body weren't on the same page. His mind told him to give up, but his body refused. What a pain.

The footsteps drew closer and he continued his running, taking a sharp turn down a narrow passage. As he took shallow breaths, he breathed in something he didn't expect.

Fresh air.

Well, not entirely fresh. It was mixed with the nauseating smell of blood and a hint of rain, but it was still there. The surface was near. He saw a faint beam of light and high-tailed it. He had known that the turn back there would take him to Golden Chrome – the richest part of No. 1 – but at that moment, he didn't care. His arm was still bleeding and he was starting to feel dizzy. He needed to stop the blood before he went into shock.

The light was fully visible now and he emerged on the surface, rain washing his mud-cake face and stiff muscles. Everything was quiet, except for a soft clicking sound…

* * *

><p>It seemed like an ordinary day. I was eleven and my world revolved around school, books, and homework.<p>

Things in No. 1 were a little more exciting than usual, simply because a typhoon warning was active until tomorrow. People were outside, rustling to cover up pools, plug up drains, and secure anything that wasn't waterproof into something that was. Just goes to show you how often it rained in No. 1.

The grey sky was a nice change to the always bright blue and the dark clouds looked like something painted in pictures. I looked out the door to my room, which so happened to be nothing but glass as was the wall surrounding it. The trees swayed violently and their leaves went flying into the sky, dotting it like the clouds. The wind was blowing so hard, I was surprised that the trees even stayed planted into the ground.

Of course, no matter how much the wind licked at my windowed walls, I knew it was no match for the bulletproof glass, so I was itching to open the window. I needed chaos in this organized room. Because of the environment control setting on my wall, the humidity and temperature never changed. Which was good for Aaron, who hated anything cold and wet, but for me, it was annoyingly suffocating at the moment. I placed my hand on the knob and chewed on my lip. A few minutes wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Honey, are you near the window?" My mom's soft voice came over the intercom.

Dang. Only a little more. With a sigh, I stepped away and walked to the right side of my door. There, on the wall, was a small touch screen. It was a handy little device if you thought about it. It had everything from the foreign body detection system to the environmental control that I despised sometimes.

I lifted my wrist to the screen and let it scan the small, black dot in the center of my white bracelet. After it dinged signifying it recognized me, I pressed the tiny red button on the upper right-hand corner and my mom's face appeared.

She smiled at me shyly, acting as if we were strangers or something, "Don't open it. I don't want you to catch a cold."

"I won't." I said, trying to keep the defiant tone out of my voice.

She pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and I heard the faint sound of the TV in the background. She turned around for a second to see what was going on before she turned back to me, "Apparently, the lowlands in the West Block are under water. How terrible." Her voice didn't even sound remotely troubled.

The map of No. 1 flashed in my mind. No. 1 was divided into East, West, South, and North Blocks. Most of the West and South Blocks were farmlands and pastures. They provided only sixty percent of the livestock and produce that No. 1 had. We mainly traded with No. 2 and No. 3, our sister cities. The East Block was nothing, but mountains and forests that were protected by the Central Control Committee, better known as the Triple C. That area was mostly off limits; you couldn't enter without permission from the Committee Head himself.

In the center of the city, a good bit was covered by an enormous woodland park. There were several different types of insects and animals that lived there that might let you meet then and it was a nice place to experience each season. Of course, the City Hall that towered over it kind of took away from its beauty, but whatever. It was a dome shaped building with five floors below ground and ten above. It was pretty tall for a place like No. 1 that didn't really have any skyscrapers. Some people call it Moon Drop because of its round, white exterior, and, on days like this when the wind was as strong is it was, you could often hear it "cry", or simple hear the metal scraping against each other. For reasons that I'll never understand, people thought it was a beautiful sound. To me, it sounded depressing and painful.

The city hospital and public affairs office were lined up around it, connected by passages that looked like glass tubes. The surrounding areas were full of more trees and forests. However, the animals and plants were controlled twenty-four seven by the Triple C. They knew everything from where and when a flower blooms to where an animal lives. With the typhoon today, I was kind of interested in how they were going to help the animals and plants survive.

"Ashton." Mom said, pulling me from the map in my head.

"Hm?" I said, looking at her.

"Dinner will be ready soon, so hurry and finish any homework you haven't done." She cut the connection.

Before I walked back to my window, I turned off everything except the call settings. I at least wanted to know if my mother was calling to yell at me.

When that was finished, I stepped to the chaos outside and slid open the doors, letting the wind carry away the piles of paper on my desk. My concrete balcony was drenched a dark grey and our pool was filled up to the brim with water. I think it was the only one in the whole neighborhood that wasn't covered with some kind of tarp. Some leaves had landed in it and I had the strange urge to jump into it.

Let's see. I was on the second floor and the pool was at least eight foot deep directly below me. Considering the wind and my weight, I'd probably land in the nine foot part and with my swimming ability I think I would be okay. But would I be able to scale the trellis in time for dinner?

I decided to find out.

Using my arms, I hoisted myself up on to the rounded railing, desperately balancing on the wet surface. Standing up straight, I waited for the strongest gust of wind before I dived head first off the balcony.

The water hit me at a breathtakingly cold temperature. My black tank-top and red boxers weren't much cover in this weather, but the adrenaline pumping through me was worth it. The tips of my fingers and toes were freezing and I was desperate for air. Quickly, I swam to the top, sucking in rainy air.

Refreshing.

A minute passed before I went numb and was able to float on my back without freezing. The rain beat down on my exposed skin and massaged them. Minutes ticked by and I started messing with the leaves floating in the pool, seeing if they would float up if I dragged them down, making them fly in the wind, simple and childish things that no one would approve of a Super Elite doing if they saw.

After a few minutes, I decided it was time to get out. My mom would no doubt look for me if I didn't answer her call then get irritated if she saw me in the rain, let alone the pool.

The air was colder than the water, which was a tad surprising considering the density of the water and the usual temperature, and the trellis was slippery. If it wasn't for the red roses, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it up. I reached the balcony just in time for the buzzard to go off again and I quickly opened up the chat.

"You were on the balcony, weren't you?" She guessed before she even saw my soaked hair.

I smiled sheepishly and stepped in her view, "Maybe."

She laughed and shook her head, "Close that window before I call Aaron home to take care of it for me." Once again, she cut the connection.

I shuddered at the thought of my twin coming in my room to 'take care of it' for her.

Aaron and I were complete opposites despite our looks. Dark, black hair, pale complexion, icy blue eyes, that we had in common, but interests and things we liked were completely different. He enjoyed dry heat. I personally thought that if it was going to be hot, it should be humid. He hated the rain, I loved it. He was majoring in Medical Science and Skills and I was majoring in Chemistry and Psychology. He knew what he wanted to do in life and I was just winging it.

I still didn't understand how we were twins.

A short, cynical laugh was heard from behind me and I instantly whirled around.

My eyes widened.

A boy no taller than me was standing at my door, drenched from head to toe. His dark hair was dripping down his cheeks and covering a good bit of his face. His clothes were worn and torn – if you could even call them clothes – and the arms and legs that were protruding from them were thin and pale. But my eyes were focused on the upper part of his arm that was dripping crimson red.

Blood.

My lamp crashed to the floor and suddenly, cold, slender fingers were stretched around my neck. I felt the thick liquid from his hand trailing down my neck as he shoved me against the door, "Don't move." He hissed lowly, revealing calm, silver blue eyes.

He was strong for his size. I expected some weakling that I could easily take care of, but I was wrong. This boy was stronger than me.

His fingers dug into my neck and his eyes seemed to be calculating something. I watched as he stared into mine, unblinking.

His eyes were odd. Pretty, but odd. The silver outlining color stumped me and the blue was almost white it was so light. They were also calm. There wasn't a trace of fear or intent to kill in them, just calm and unwavering. His pale face was sunken in a little and he looked like he could use some kind of meat put on him. Once again, my eyes landed on the still-bleeding wound. How could he be so focused with a wound like that? Why wasn't he crying out in pain? There wasn't even a trace of pain on his face.

This boy was strong in more than one sense of the word.

"I'll treat that for you." I said, bringing my hand to his wrist, "I think I can do it."

He inhaled sharply, thinking my offer through, and his glared tightened. I saw my reflection in his eyes and saw that my own face didn't have any fear on it either. Interesting.

The boy loosened his grip around my throat.

"Ashton?" My mom's voice resonated around the silent room.

The boy's grip returned to my throat.

I nodded at him before I flashed my white bracelet across the screen, "Yeah mom?"

"What are you doing honey? Dinner's ready and waiting."

I took a deep breath. Lying to her was easy enough, I just didn't quite understand why I was doing it. "Sorry mom, I'm naked. I was trying to change when you called me."

"Oh." She laughed, "Sorry honey. I forgot you were shy. Just come on out when you're ready."

"Actually," I said quickly so she wouldn't hang up, "I'm doing a report right now. I'll eat dinner when I'm done."

The boy's eyes widened slightly.

"Wow. You've just transferred to the Special Course and they're already making you work so hard? Okay dear. Just don't overdo it."

"I won't." I said, ending the call.

The boy completely let go of my neck and I felt the ground under my feet.

I turned back on the environmental setting and let it do it's thing, but left off the foreign body detector. If I had turned it on, the annoying alarm would've most likely set off and I would be stuck explaining to mom why there was a soaking wet, injured boy in my room. The stupid thing didn't go off for Golden Chrome residence like my neighbor Dakota, but I doubted this intruder lived anywhere near here, let alone in the richest part of No. 1.

I closed the door and warm air instantly filled the room. I walked past the stairs on the left side of my door and opened up my closet door. The boy watched me with a guarded stance, as if he expected me to turn on him at any moment, but at the same time, it looked like he wasn't that far away from collapsing on the floor.

"Come over here." I said, waving him over.

Cautiously, he stepped in to the closet and sat down.

The sleeve of his shirt was ripped where something had entered, so I tore it completely off. A small hole went through his arm. It was swollen around the edges and smelled awful – I had never smelled burning flesh before that day.

His stance seemed to relax a little as I sprayed disinfectant on it to clean it off. He just continued to stare at me with calculating eyes without saying a word.

"This is a gunshot wound, isn't it?" I asked, breaking the silence. I had never seen something like it before. In fact, I thought that only the hunting team was allowed to handle guns, so I was a little interested in the reason this small boy was harboring a shot from one.

"Yeah." He said, meeting my eyes, "She said you were in the Special Course?"

I nodded as I started searching for some gauze, "I started a month ago, why?"

"You don't look any older than me." He noted, "You must have a high IQ." His voice had a hint of teasing in it.

I narrowed my eyes at him and slapped the gauze on, "Are you making fun of me?"

He cringed, "Surely not." He muttered sarcastically. "So what's your major?"

"Chemistry and Psychology." I said, going through the first aid kid. Maybe something I read in a science class would help me with this, but Psychology was useless at this point. I really wasn't qualified to do this, but still, he needed to be treated, where else could I go?

I grabbed a needle and took it out of it's sterile case.

"What the hell are you going to do with that?" He asked, pulling his arm out of hand and backing away a little.

"It's a local anesthetic." I said. He could handle a gunshot wound, but he was afraid of a little needle?

"Numb me up and then what?" He demanded, gulping quietly.

"Stitches." I blinked and tried to hold in a chuckle. This boy was a funny one.

"Stitches? You have experience with that?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course not." I said, "I'm mainly majoring Psychology, remember? But my brother's majoring in the medical field and I've read a few of his books so I have a basic understand of the muscles and blood vessels."

"Basic understanding, huh?" He muttered, placing his arm back in my hand.

I studied his arm. Would it hurt if I simply shot him in the muscle or was it better to aim for a blood vessel? I chose the safe route and stuck his muscle, "It should go numb fairly quickly."

He studied me for a minute, "You're weird, you know that?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because you haven't asked my name yet."

I shrugged, going back to the first aid kit, "You haven't asked my name yet either, so it's okay."

"Ashton, isn't it? Like that ancient actor?" He asked, still watching me without blinking.

I threaded the needle and nodded, "My mom says that her great grandmother wanted to name a girl that and she thought it was pretty for a girl. What about you?"

"Shere." He said.

This time, I looked at him, "Tiger?"

"So you know ancient Indian languages as well? Impressive." He said with the same teasing tone as before.

I rolled my eyes, "You don't look like a tiger." I said, ignoring him, "More like a kitten."

I heard him snicker and then suddenly, it turned into muffled chuckles, "You think I'm a kitten?"

"What's so funny?" I demanded, "It's not my fault you're so small."

He quieted, but the smirk stayed in place, "You couldn't be farther from the truth."

I rolled my eyes. He was definitely a guy.

Steadily, I started threading the needle through Shere's skin. I needed to do this accurately. Mistakes were unacceptable.

When I finished, I wrapped it securely in gauze and smiled, "Perfect. I must have some talented fingers."

"It's not just your fingers, you're bright too. You're only eleven, right? You must be a Super Elite to be entering such a pristine school at this age."

I nodded as a confirmation, "I'm good with sports along with my ability to memorize things after only reading it once."

"No kidding, eh?" He went quiet again, thinking.

"So how did you get shot anyway?" I asked, trying to distract him from his thoughts. I didn't know why it bothered me, but it did. It was as if he was questioning my motives or something. "I thought only the Hunting Club was allowed to have guns."

"They're pretty much the same." He said, smiling grimly as his eyes looked like they were spacing in and out, "Only they hunt humans."

I blinked, confused, "What do you mean?" Why would there be such a thing in No. 1? It wasn't possible, was it? No. 1's crime rate had always been nearly zero, so there wasn't a need to carry firearms of any sorts. Even the ban on hunting was only lifted twice a year and even that was controlled. The Triple C picked out who got what type of gun, where they went, which animals they were allowed to kill, and how many a day they could kill. And besides, this wasn't a fox or deer in front of me, this was a human being. And not just a human being, this was a boy no older than me.

"Among humans, there are those who are hunted and those who do the hunting. At least here in No. 1 that is."

I bit my lip to keep from asking any other questions and stood up to place the first aid kit back in it's place among the shelves.

Shere walked to my window and peered past the see-through, white curtains.

"You should stay here until the storm's over." I said, stepping out of the closet, "I might have one of my brother's shirts in my dresser somewhere."

I pressed the 'on' button on my hot chocolate machine on my desk before I rummaged through my dresser. Sure enough, I found a black sweater and tossed it up to him, "Here. You can put that on."

I grabbed the mugs of hot chocolate and walked up the stairs to the top part of my bedroom where my actual bed was. Unlike most second floors, there was railing outlining the edge to where I could see my working space just fine.

Just then, Shere made some noise and I looked over just in time to see burn marks on his back as he pulled down the shirt.

He turned to me, "What?"

I cleared my throat and shrugged, handing him the mug.

His smile was small, but it was still a smile. And it was the first time I saw emotion in his eyes. "It's good." He said.

I smiled as he started drinking it, holding it with both hands.

"Hey, are you always like this?" He asked suddenly.

I cocked my head to the side, "Like what?"

"Are you always this defenseless around strangers? Or are all Super Elites this clueless?" His tone turned harsh, "You can live without fear or uneasiness."

My jaw locked and I narrowed my eyes at him, "You know, I'm not dumb enough to not know that someone crawling up through a second floor window isn't a law-abiding citizen. I know what it's like to be scared. You could've killed me easily earlier."

"Then why?" He demanded, still cold.

That was a good question. And I didn't know if I could answer it. Why _did _I let some random stranger into my room, treat his wound, and then give him something to drink? I'm not a particularly cold-hearted person, but I'm not a saint either. This wasn't out of character, but it also wasn't in my character. If the authorities found out, I could be in dire trouble – there was no doubt about that – but I strangely didn't care. Maybe I'm not as smart as people seem to think…

I met Shere's cold glare and he smirked as if he knew what I was thinking. He shot me another cold glare.

"It's because you surprised me." I said absently, looking to the side, "You're extremely small for a boy and you looked like you were on the verge of collapsing, but you still had a determined look in your eyes. I thought that I was going to be able to take you easily, but your strength surprised me. Not only that, but you were wounded and you showed no signs of any pain, just calculations. And…"

And your eyes are strangely gorgeous and you might just be the strongest person I have ever met. Both physically and mentally.

"And?" He pressed.

"I… I don't know." I admitted. Even if his eyes were amazing and even if he was strong, that didn't mean I had to save him. There was no logical explanation for what I did. I just did it.

His eyes widened and his mouth opened a little. He obviously wasn't expecting my answer. "Thank you." He said softly, smiling again.

I smiled a little. That was the first time he had thanked me since he barged in.

I sat my cup of cocoa on the end table by my bed, "I'll be back in a minute."

He nodded, taking another drink of hot chocolate.

I walked down the steps and slid open my door only to see Aaron and mom sitting at the dining table.

"'Bout time sis." Aaron said.

I sighed dramatically, "Sorry. That report is really getting to me."

Mom blinked, surprised. It was rare that something gave me trouble, "Do you want your brother to help you?"

I shook my head, "No. I have to do it by myself if I want to do as well in the Special Course as I was doing in the Elite classes."

Mom nodded, but Aaron raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

I ignored him and got some steak and vegetables, "I'm going to eat in my room."

Mom nodded absently.

Just then, all three of our white bracelets started beeping simultaneously.

I heaved a sigh and sat the plate down, clicking the black dot facing me. A projection about the side of a notebook laptop screen popped out with a picture of Shere and the characters VC818956231 scribbled under it. It was a complete description of him down to the scars on his back I had saw earlier.

My eyes widened. He was an escapee from the Correctional Facility, which was known for its deadliest criminals.

"He's so young." Mom said, "I wonder what he did."

That was a good question. What could that small boy on my bed have done to earn such a serious punishment?

VC was short for Violent Chip. Very few people in the Correctional Facility had one in them. Basically, it was a small chip that was implanted into a criminal to track his or her location, physical condition, and emotional state.

My mind started processing questions. If he had a VC in him, then they should be able to track him without notifying the public. Yet they notified everyone and even put a curfew for the citizens, so maybe they couldn't track him for some reason. Could that gunshot wound have been self-inflicted to get the chip out of his body? I mentally shook my head. Even though I was inexperienced with that sort of thing, it was obvious that shot had come from a distance. If he had tried to dig out the chip, the wound would've been way worse.

"Something wrong, Ashton?" Mom asked.

I smiled and shook my head. "No, I just can't seem to think of a reason a small-looking boy like that would be categorized as a VC."

Mom smiled, "If you don't have an answer, it'll irritate you, won't it?"

I nodded.

She laughed, "Don't worry dear. Once you finish your report, maybe we'll talk about it."

"Okay. Thanks Mom."

Once the door was slid close, I noticed the lights were off.

"Don't turn on the lights." Shere's voice resonated around me.

I shrugged and walked up the steps, still in thought. "VC818956231. It was on the news. You're quite famous, aren't you? I even know that you're actually a year _older _than me." And yes, that was the most surprising of it all. How could he be older than me? Logic obviously wasn't on my side today.

I saw his face turn into a glare. Even in the dark, I knew his body had gone tense and he was ready to attack me if I showed any signs of turning him in or hurting him, "The real thing is a lot better, isn't it?" He said darkly.

I ignored it though and handed him the plate of food, "Eat up. I brought you some steak and vegetables. You need strength anyway."

He sat back on the bed, completely lost now, "Is that okay?"

I shrugged, "Of course it is. I told my family I was busy with a report so I was going to eat in my room."

He smiled and chuckled, taking the trey from me, "Smells great."

I sat next to him on my bed and let him eat for a few minutes before I asked another question, "Are you going to be able to escape?"

"Of course." He said, looking up at me.

"But what about the VC?"

"It's still inside me."

I almost rolled my eyes, "If it's still inside you, then how are you going to escape? Can't they track you?"

"Don't worry about it. That toy of a chip stopped working a long time ago."

I blinked, "Toy?"

He nodded, "In fact, this entire city is like one huge toy." He said coldly, "Do you know how it was made?"

I nodded, "It was made after the Ultimate Treaty. The wars before the treaty had destroyed most of the land, making it uninhabitable for humans and animals alike, so the remaining three areas were created into peaceful cities. No. 1 was the first to make it's city one of the more profitable, that's where it got its name 'No. 1'. The others are known as No. 2 and No. 3."

He chuckled, but didn't say anything.

I raised an eyebrow, "Why were you arrested? Only serious criminals get a VC implanted in them, so why do you have it?" I paused, "They said that you escaped from the Correctional Facility, is that even possible?"

"Of course it is. I'm here with you right now, aren't I?" I rolled my eyes, "But I didn't commit any crime per-say. I hadn't even lived in this city until a few months ago."

"Then how did you get here?"

"I was brought in." He stated simply, his tone ending the flow of questions flooding my mind. "It's probably better if you stopped questioning me."

"Why?"

He sighed and rolled over on his side, stretching out on my bed, "Can you forget something once you've heard it? Can you pretend like no one told you? You may be smart, but that's a trait only adults have."

Ah, so he was protecting me by not telling me. And it made since. In its own way. Except I wanted to know. For some reason, I needed to know that this boring, lifeless city wasn't as perfect as everyone thought it was.

I sighed and laid back, legs dangling off the edge of the bed. My mind wasn't making sense anymore.

"You don't get it, do you?" He questioned, sitting up to look at me.

I looked up at him and shook my head, "I mean, I understand why you won't tell me, but I still want to know."

He rolled his eyes, "You're in serious trouble right now. Maybe instead of worrying about answers and a complete stranger, you should worry about yourself."

I sat up, "What do you mean?"

"You're in a heap of danger right now. Sheltering a VC without notifying the Safety Bureau and even now, talking calmly with a potential murderer, aren't you even a little bit worried that they'll make you regret it? Or that I'll make you regret it?"

Again with this 'I'm the bad guy' act, "Sure that's a problem, but I highly doubt someone like you is a murderer."

It was his turn to be confused, "What do you mean?"

"I specialize in the human mind. I know the signs of a potential threat and right now, you warning me that you could hurt me, is a sign that you're trying to make yourself seem like an awful person to protect the innocence that you think I have."

He started laughing again, shaking his head, "I'm glad the window I climbed in belonged to a weirdo like you."

I smiled and playfully rolled my eyes, "Hush. You're the one with an ancient name."

He snickered, "And don't worry. I won't say anything about _that_."

I cocked my head to the side, "About what?"

"Your diving adventures."

My eyes widened and my cheeks heated up, "How did you…?"

"Imagine it! I was crawling out of a tunnel when I suddenly heard a strange clicking sound. The sound was near so I followed it and made it just in time to see you jump in to the pool."

"Wait a minute-"

"Then, without a care in the world, you started playing in it. Never mind the fact that it was storming outside, you continued splashing around, experimenting with the leaves and playing with the wind."

My face was probably beet red. I knew I shouldn't have done that.

Quickly, I leaped off the bed and side kicked Shere. He was faster, however. With surprising speed, he grabbed my foot, yanked me back on the bed, and pinned me to it. He was holding both my wrists with one hand and his legs squeezed on my waist, straddling me. With his free hand, he picked up the fork, twirled it in his fingers, and lightly drew it across my neck.

"If this was a knife," He whispered in my ear, "You'd be dead in seconds flat."

It was the first time someone had actually beaten me at my own game. I was pressed so hard to my bed that I couldn't move, let alone resist. My legs were starting to go numb and the muscles in my neck twitched uncomfortable.

Wow.

"That was pretty cool." I said, smiling up at the lock of his dark hair that was covering my face, "Do they train you in the Facility or something? There's no way this technique is something you just know."

He sat up and looked at me, once again surprised. Then, his body hunched over and he shook with laughter, "Honestly. I should probably be more worried about you than the guys following me."

As he bent over, the shirt he was wearing lifted up a little, revealing hot skin. I trailed my hands up his shirt and felt his back. Burning hot.

"This is bad. You have a fever. I'll go get some antibiotics." I said.

He rolled over and pulled me with him, wrapping his arms around my waist and keeping me close to him, "It's okay. I just want to sleep."

"But," I mumbled in his chest, "If you sleep with a fever, you'll just get weaker."

"You're pretty warm yourself." He said sleepily, "So humans are warm when they're alive, huh?" He pulled me closer and tightened his grip a little, smiling.

I smiled in response and rested my head on his chest. It was hot and sweaty and I was surprised the environmental setting didn't do something about it.

After some time, I had fallen asleep as well, cuddling up to his feverish body.

And when I woke up, Shere was gone. He had taken the mug of hot chocolate and my brother's shirt with him, but other than that, it was like he wasn't here at all.


	2. Chapter One

**It's Been Five Years; Unthinkable Death**

"Ashton, are you paying attention to me?" Dakota's voice was suddenly loud in my ear.

I jumped, causing the cup of hot tea to spill on my leg, successfully giving me an unattractive red, blotch mark. "Ouch." I hissed.

Dakota sighed and grabbed a napkin, dabbing at my inner thigh gently, "Honestly. We haven't seen each other in ages and you're spacing out. What's going through that mind of yours?"

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired." I lied, sitting back in my seat at the bar.

He shook his head, smiling slightly.

The Dakota I knew was different from the Dakota in school. The Dakota in school was quiet and barely spoke out of line. He also tended to stay away from other people. But the Dakota that I knew lost his anger easily, yet was still gentle somehow. He was never quiet unless he was trying to contain his anger, which only happened when he was mega pissed off, and people sort of swarmed around him, wanting to be his friend. Whether it was for his personality or good looks, I was never really sure of. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

"I'm leaving to study in No. 2 and you're completely zoned out. Figures." He muttered.

"I'm sorry." I repeated, "Honestly, I am. But I'm happy that you're going. You need to experience something other than the people in this place." I smiled.

Dakota, however, didn't return it. His brown hair had fallen over his eyes, covering up their olive color that I had seen so many times. He propped an elbow on the bar counter and rested his head on his hand, studying me. His dark coat sleeve was trailing down his arm, revealing the all-too familiar white bracelet that every citizen had. He started tapping his foot in impatience and I started to return his scrutinizing gaze, making sure to add a hint of glare with it.

"I've been wondering about something for a long time now." He said.

I raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue.

"Why did you drop out of the Special Course five years ago?"

I blinked, the glare in my gaze completely wiped away, "Isn't it too late to ask that now?"

He ignored my question, "You're one of the smartest girls in this city and yet you dropped out. The teachers all had high expectation for you."

"They overestimated my abilities." I said coldly. I hated the subject of the past. It irritated me.

He rolled his eyes, starting to lose his temper himself, "Please. Do you want me to show you your scores?" He lifted his wrist up and pulled down his sleeve, placing a threatening finger over the small, black dot.

I tasted something metallic in my mouth. Visions of pretty silver-blue eyes and dark blood danced in my mind. A deep voice resonated in my ears and something feverish pricked at my skin.

"What's the point in asking me that now?" I demanded, "Even if it was a choice to drop out, there's nothing for me to do about it now, now is there? Five years ago, my special privileges were revoked and I was forced to move here to Lost Town." Force wasn't the right word for it, however. I mean, it was true that they technically made me, but I had known the general consequences when I did it, so in a way, it _was _a choice I had made.

"Well what did you do to get them revoked?" Dakota demanded.

I sighed and took a drink of the remaining tea, "I don't want to talk about it, Dakota."

"But I want to know." He whined/hissed.

It wasn't that I didn't want to talk about it. Actually, there really wasn't any problem for me if I told him about Shere and his captivating eyes, but I was afraid it would hurt Shere. Without a doubt, even after all this time, I figured he was still alive somewhere, hiding amongst the citizens, and I didn't want to ruin his chances of escaping.

The Ministry of Peace had found out I had him hidden in my room and let him escape. Unexpectedly, my brother had walked in to my room after we had fallen asleep and said something to my mom. Her reply was that we would talk about it in the morning when I had woken up. But because all the foreign body detection systems were all connected to the Safety Bureau in the City Hall, and because everyone else's but ours was turned on, it didn't take the Ministry of Peace a long time to figure out what was going on.

It wasn't even two hours after Shere had disappeared that three bulky men had swarmed in my room, demanding answer after answer.

_ You knew he was a VC?_

_ Yes._

_ But you didn't report him right away?_

_ No._

_ Why?_

My eyes never left his. The man who had interrogated me was much older than I was. His hair had already started to grey and his eyes had wrinkles setting in. His lips had been set in a grim line, which strongly contradicted the soft and gentle tone he had used with me – most like because I was a brilliant young girl who could easily devise a serum to kill him in his sleep, or at least that's what he thought. He was never harsh or anything, just plain. Boring like the rest of the environment.

_There's no hurry. Take your time in answering and choose your words carefully._

_ I don't regret it._

My tone had came out a little more aggressive than I had meant it, but still, the words were true. And they were still true to this day.

The man had smiled grimly and patted my shoulder. I think he enjoyed the slightly rebellious attitude I had had.

_But why did you do it?_

_Because he was only a year older than me and he was hurt. There was nothing dangerous about him and he needed help._

I had kept his name a secret from everyone, including my mother and brother. Maybe the Safety Bureau had already known it, but if they didn't then I didn't want them able to search for him by name.

My statement of him not being dangerous is mainly why I was revoked of privileges. That and the defiant tone I had. My family wasn't bothered by it. I think in some way they expected it. After the typhoon had let up, we were tossed on to the streets like dogs. We were barely allowed to stay in the city. It was just as Shere had said. The social pyramid for No. 1 was tightly knit, once you fell to a lower rank, it was hard to climb up.

"I get it." Dakota said, annoyed, "I won't press it any farther." He stood up and threw some money on the bar, "Come on. It's getting dark."

I sighed. He was angry with me again. Instead of arguing, I simply stood up and grabbed the paper cup to toss it in the trash.

We stepped out of the Café and into the cold. Thanks to Dakota, my mind was once again filled with the familiar pricking heat and strange images. In all truth, I did miss the education a little and yes, the constant praise was a nice thing, but no matter how many times I thought about it, I wouldn't do anything differently. Meeting Shere was a nice change and it opened my mind more. Before I had thought that everything was as I saw it. Humans were just components of elements that could easily be created or killed off. But now, I knew that humans were warm. They were more complicated than my Psychology book could ever teach. There have been one or two typhoons since then and every time, I wished for a small boy to crawl through my window and stay with me.

I wanted to see him again.

I glanced at Dakota. If I told him that – that feeling of unrefined sureness that what I did wasn't a mistake – he wouldn't understand. He was as gifted as I was, but he used his knowledge as his weapon. Feelings weren't feelings, they were illusions created by the mind to make us think we were some type of superior species.

"What?" He demanded, still agitated.

I sighed, "Come on, Dakota. You can't be mad at me just because I don't want to talk about it. Be happy that you're studying abroad. It's rare for someone as young as you to go on that program, isn't it?"

His glare turned to a smug grin, "What? Are you jealous?"

I smiled, "Of course."

We headed down steps in between two tall buildings. People were scarce down this pathway so it was the perfect time to talk about things Dakota wouldn't normally talk about. Or show emotions he normally wouldn't show.

However, instead of loosening up like I had expected him to, he tensed and came to a complete stop, "Liar." He said. "I specialize in the same field you used to. I know how the human mind works when they're jealous. They start sweating and are fidgety because they're uncomfortable around the person. They also hold underlining spite in their sentences and are unusually cold towards the person of their envy-"

"I get it, I get it. Geeze. If I wanted a lecture, I would've asked for one." I grumbled.

He continued walking, "If you were jealous, you wouldn't have been able to smile like that." He turned to me, "If this had happened five years ago, you would be jealous of me. But now… Now it's like you're fine with living your life like some lower rank citizen."

This time, I walked ahead of him, "I _am_ a lower ranked citizen Dakota."

He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, "Why do you say it without any disgust? Why aren't you angry at the fact that you're nothing to society? Why doesn't it bother you?"

"Because I don't care." I said absently. He wanted answers? I'll give them to him. "I don't care that the city finds me useless except on weekdays when I waitress for the fanciest restaurant Lost Town has to offer. I honestly don't really care what the city thinks of me. What matters is what you, Aaron, and my mom think of me, not the government."

His mouth was hanging open. My answer was surprising, but it was true.

We entered the station in quiet, Dakota still trying to process my answer.

As I said before, I live in a small area on the border of the West Block. It mainly served as a buffer zone between the city center and the West Block. Compared to the quiet town, it was louder and more lively. The faint scent of fried food and alcohol seemed to linger in the air twenty-four seven, but it was still a decent place. More crime yes, but more fun in a way also.

"So when are you leaving?" I asked as he and I stepped outside where it was less crowded. The boat he needed wasn't going to arrive for at least another half hour and there was no way I was spending his last couple of weeks here in awkward silence.

"The day after tomorrow." He said.

My eyes widened, "The day after tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't want to talk about it." He said. His gaze suddenly turned serious and he looked me in the eye, "Ashton… There's something I want from you before I leave."

I cocked my head to the side, "Sure. As long as it's something I can give you before you leave." I felt horrible for not having a goodbye present for him. He was supposed to be my best friend after all.

He reached his hand out and intertwined our fingers.

I looked at our hands and furrowed my eyebrows. What was this guy thinking?

When I looked up again, he leaned in just enough to graze his lips against mine.

My eyes widened and I froze in place.

He pulled away and brought his lips to my ear, "I want to have sex with you."

He… What? I blinked. "But… um… Dakota… Er…"

"Right now." He pressed.

"But Dakota… uh…"

He pulled away and quirked an eyebrow, "What? Are you not interest in men? Or do you not like me?"

"I like and am interested in both, it's just I… I don't think of you that way." I bit my lip. Where the hell did all this come from anyway?

He sighed and let go of my hand. Suddenly, he started laughing, "You're as clueless as ever. I can tell you didn't get the hints."

"Hints?"

Suddenly, someone shrieked and it turned into a mass of everyone running out of the station. A small, grey kitten walked over to me and climbed on my lap and up to my shoulder.

"How cute." I said, smiling. It was only a tad bit bigger than the palm of my hand with cute little purple eyes, "And what's your name?" I asked, petting it's head with my index finger.

It avoided my finger and lifted its little nose to my ear, "Five years hasn't changed you at all."

My body ignited and my eyes widened. I went to grab the kitten, but it leaped off my shoulder and to the ground, running down the sidewalk, causing more commotion among the crowd.

Silver-blue eyes flashed across my vision and I shot off the bench, "Shere!"

"Ashton, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry Dakota. I'll talk to you later."

No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I'm supposed to do. If I leave him now, I won't see him for two years. I'm supposed to stay with him until the boat comes or at least until it's in sight. I may not want to have sex with him, but he's still close to me. We've known each other since we were two. We've lived next to each other, studied together, baked for each other; I can't leave such an important person alone on a bench because of some stranger. I knew that, but…

I wanted to see him.

I bolted down the road, keeping on the kitten's tail. People in the crowd threw insults and cusses at me, but I didn't care.

I wanted to see him.

The need to see him made me sick. He was nothing but a stranger to me, yet I had helped him at the cost of everything I knew and I was doing it again. Dakota would no doubt be pissed at me and refuse to talk to me for a while. But I didn't care.

I wanted to see him.

The kitten crossed the road just as people crowded the streets and the light turned green. Damn it. I couldn't catch it in time. By the time everything cleared up, the kitten was nowhere in sight.

* * *

><p>It was just past midnight and I was sitting on the balcony-like porch, staring up at the night sky. This porch was mainly used for guests of my mom's bakery downstairs, but I liked to come up here and think. Fresh air always did help.<p>

Damn him. What was he trying to prove, making such a showy entrance? I was positive he was there, but why couldn't he come and talk to me? Why use a kitten? Was it because I was with Dakota? Or was it because he didn't want to see me?

"Ash, are you okay?" Aaron's sudden presence startled me.

I took a deep breath and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He took a seat next to me and studied me, "You're lying again. Something's bothering you. What happened today?"

I shrugged and looked up at the stars, "Nothing. What makes you think I'm lying?"

He sighed, "We're twins. I know when something's bothering you."

I snorted, "You and I both know that according to Albert Drake's study, twin telepathy was proven wrong over ten years ago. There is no such thing as 'twin senses'."

He laughed, "But he didn't study two Super Elites, now did he?"

"I guess not, but we're not different from any other twins, besides the amount of knowledge we know."

"And besides the fact that I know how you act usually and how you act when you're agitated."

I shrugged again, looking away from him. I knew he was just worried, but I was still trying to process it all myself. Not knowing something irritated me and at the moment, I didn't know what to do.

"Dakota called me." Aaron said, "He said you ran away from him for a kitten after you shouted a strange name."

I stayed silent. So he was angry. There's a surprise.

"He said he had never seen that expression on your face before."

That puzzled me. I looked at Aaron and furrowed my eyebrows, "What expression?"

"He said it was a mixture of surprise and excitement, something like it seemed as if you were in a dream."

I rolled my eyes. What a dumb, poetic way to put it.

Aaron was quiet for a moment, mauling over whether to ask me something or not.

Finally, he asked, "Was it that guy? He should be about seventeen now, shouldn't he?"

"No." I lied, "Why would he have a reason to come back after all this time?"

"Maybe he was shot again." Aaron cracked, trying to be funny.

I shot him a glare.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. That wasn't funny." He placed a hand on my knee, "But seriously, who else could it be?"

"I don't know." I said absently, "Maybe it was the Ministry of Peace trying to mess with me."

He snorted, "Liar. You don't actually believe that. I may not have been the best when it came to Psychology, but I consider myself a pro when it comes to you. You really thought you would see him, didn't you?"

I groaned, "Shut up, okay? I don't want to talk about it obviously."

He shook his head, "I don't know why you like that kid. He didn't do anything but ruin your life."

I growled and stood up, "He didn't ruin my life, okay? It's not like he forced me to help him, I did it because I wanted to. Now drop it before I drop you."

He stood up too, a cocky smirk plastered on his face, "Try it sis. It's been awhile since the last time we wrestled."

I narrowed my eyes, "Don't think I'll go easy on you."

"That's my line." He said.

We circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Quickly, I lifted a chair with the tip of my foot and kicked it into the air. When it was at just the right place, I side-kicked it at him. He dodged it however, lowering himself to the floor and swiping my legs. I lost my balance and fell to the floor. Without missing a beat, I used my hands to push myself up just in time to block his foot with my arm.

"Lack of practice has made you slow, sis." He said mockingly.

"Shut it." I said, attempting to punch him.

He blocked it of course and just as he was about to return the blow, my bracelet vibrated.

We both looked at it, breathing only a little heavier than normal.

"Answer it. It's probably Dakota." Aaron said, letting go of my arm.

"I thought he was mad at me." I said, clicking on the black button. Sure enough, Dakota's number flashed across the holographic screen.

Aaron laughed, "Man, you really are dense when it comes to guys. Maybe you should've stayed in Psychology longer." Aaron teased, "Talk to him and get to bed. Remember you have work tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes father."

He smirked, but walked back in the house without a word.

Sighing, I answered the call. The numbers were replaced with a picture of Dakota's face. The normal business aura that he tried to have was completely wiped away by the dark muscle shirt he was wearing, revealing thin but defined muscles.

"Dakota, I'm sorry about earlier." I apologized quickly. Better to just get the conversation over with.

"Don't worry about it." He said, running a hand through his hair, "But who was that person? Is he someone you care so much about that you'd run to him in a daze?"

"Yeah." My eyes widened a little. I answered that quicker than I thought with a different answer than I thought. "Don't get the wrong idea, Dakota. He's not my boyfriend or anything like that, he's just um… Well, you see, he… uh… How to explain…"

He chuckled a little, but it sounded a little strained, "This is the first time I've seen you flustered."

I laughed uneasily, rubbing my head, "I'm not flustered, I just don't know how to say it so that you'd understand."

"It's fine. If there's someone you like, I don't mind."

He avoided eye contact and I frowned. It did bother him that I might like someone.

"I don't like him." I said firmly, "He's just a stranger."

"You don't run to a stranger the way you ran today." He said.

"Dakota, there is no specific way to run. Running is running, no matter where or who it's to."

He rolled his eyes at my smartass comment, "You know what I meant. For as long as I've known you, you've never cared about anything but education. Not even your own twin was on your side. Everyone was an enemy. Then five years ago, when everything was taken from you, you suddenly started caring about spending time with us. I'd see you and Aaron around town laughing and having a good ole time like nothing was wrong in your guys' life, like nothing was taken from you. And then just today you get an expression that I've never seen before on your face and speed down the road after some stray cat. I just don't understand what's going through your mind."

I blinked, unsure of what to say. It was true, more or less, but I didn't want to admit that to Dakota. Besides, I was still trying to figure it out myself. Things just happened so fast and slow at the same time. Things were just so confusing and mixed up...

"You're making that face again."

My focus returned and I raised an eyebrow, "What? This is my face. I can't help it."

He chuckled again, but it was replaced with a sigh, "I don't think you understand anything unless someone tells you straight out." He muttered.

"Huh?"

His expression went serious again and I almost gulped. What was he going to do this time?

"I love you Ashton. And I don't mean in a sisterly way. I'm in love with you and have been for years." The connection ended.

I stared at the top of my wrist, eyes wide. He what? Since when… Why? Was he on drugs?

Groaning, I walked in the house and into my room.

Despite the small and limited amount of funds we had, Mom managed to get a three bedroomed house, so each of us had our own privacy.

Even in the dark, I knew my bed was leaning against the paneled walls, untouched by anyone. Instead of lying down to sleep like I should have, I sat on top, tucking my knees under my chin and wrapping my arms around my legs. The only sounds outside were the usual yelling idiots and some sirens here and there.

Something rustled in a dark corner and I straightened up, "Shere?"

Nothing.

With a sigh, I threw my back against the bed, listening to the crickets.

I was delusional. That's all there was to it.

* * *

><p>"Ashton! It's time to get up!" Aaron shouted.<p>

I groaned and rolled over. What time did I finally go to sleep last night? Four?

Aaron jumped on me, causing us to roll to the floor.

"Idiot. Aren't we too old to be jumping on each other in the morning?" I asked, breathless. He was heavy!

"This is just payback for Saturday. Remember? You tackled me into the garden?"

I laughed, "You deserved it."

"How?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Because I said so." I said, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down.

"Kids! No wrestling, you hear me?" Mom shouted up at us.

Aaron and I laughed.

"Of course not mom. We're sixteen now. What makes you think we would stoop to such childish things?" We said simultaneously.

We heard her soft laugh, "Just come downstairs. You'll be later for work, Ashton."

Crap. Work. Forgot.

Aaron helped me up and we walked down the stairs to the store.

It was only about seven in the morning, but mom's shop already had costumers lined up outside. On the inside, the rundown shelves were filled with yummy pastries that she made herself. I was almost positive that the smell of them is what made the little rundown shop so popular. We didn't even have a proper register; mom had to keep all the money earned in a waterproof case that Aaron had built last year.

"Make sure to pick some milk up on your way home." Mom said.

I nodded, grabbing a homemade muffin, "Maybe I'll even pick up some of that creepy gooey stuff that Aaron likes."

That had his attention, "You mean Mrs. Pitts's candy?"

I nodded, though I wasn't even sure if the yellowish-green substance could be called candy.

"God I love you."

I laughed, "Of course you do."

I grabbed my coat and uniform before stepping outside into the cold. My breath was visible in the air, just like the dozen others standing in front of the shops door. One of the more common customers, a little girl by the name of Athena, came up to me and grabbed a hold of my jeans.

"Hey Ashy. What are you doing today?" She asked in an innocent, soft voice.

I knelt down and smiled at her, "I'm going to work, what about you?"

"I'm coming to get some of your mommy's yummy muffins." She said, smiling a toothy grin.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "How would you like a taste of a fresh one? Just out of the oven."

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

I nodded, smiling wider. "Here." I handed her the blueberry muffin and stood up, ruffling her hair, "Enjoy it."

"You're amazing!" She cheered.

I waved and headed down the streets.

Lost Town didn't have many restaurants that people would consider fancy. Usually, shops like my mom's – old but sturdy buildings with good food – would be called fancy. However, there was one restaurant in the entire town that was actually fancy. Spell was a huge restaurant – one of the biggest in No. 1 – that mainly revolved around Italian food. It was known for it's high-class waitress and robot cooks. The only thing that people didn't know was that the robots simply did what actual chefs did, mimicking their movements down to the time they wiped the sweat off their faces. But it was good for service. People liked things that were different, and a robot cooking in front of you was a different as it got.

Sadly, it wasn't that far from my mom's shop either. A few miles and turns and your there.

"Welcome back, Ashton." Amber, one of the few human waitresses, said.

I nodded to her and grabbed an apron, "I'm gonna go change in the bathroom, okay?"

She nodded, "Actually, I need to come in there and fix my makeup, do you care if I come with you?"

I shook my head and stepped through the bar to the employees' bathroom.

The difference between the public bathrooms and the employees'? The public ones were cleaner, smelled better, and were fancier.

I was just about to strip out of my jeans when Amber started rubbing her neck, "Damn it. I think I'm starting to get back pains or something. Must be from old age."

I laughed a little.

Amber was only twenty-three with long, dyed blonde hair and big brown eyes. She had a pretty face, sophisticated yet soft at the same time, and a fairly defined hour-glass figure – curves had always been her most 'prized' trait about herself. The problem with beauty is the conceitedness that comes with it usually. Sure she was a nice girl – sometimes. But that was mostly when dealing with costumers. When no one was looking, she had a fowl mouth and icy attitude.

"And this fucking stench in here isn't helping either." See? Lips like an angel.

I sighed and stopped undressing, "Do you want me to give you a neck massage again? Is that why you're bitching?"

She grinned a metallic grin, "So you catch on quickly, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and walked over to her, "You know, if I wasn't a nice person, I would use this chance to get you fired."

"But we're coworkers and you would never do that."

"Only because you covered for me last night." I grumbled.

She cracked her neck and moved her hair out of the way, "It really hurts." She said quietly, rubbing at a certain spot.

I walked over and moved her hand. My eyes widened and I gasped quietly, "What _is _that?"

"What?" She asked frantically.

A blue-purplish bruise was taking up a good bit of the base of her neck and for a second, I thought I saw something move under it.

"What did you? Slam your neck into a freaking pole?"

She tilted her and stared at me through the mirror, "I don't know how that got there. I didn't see it last night before I went to bed."

It was possible for a bruise to form overnight, if it was bad enough. But you would think that she would remember hitting her neck hard enough to break a blood vessel.

"Were you drinking with the costumers again last night?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

I rolled my eyes. There's the explanation. She probably got wasted and rammed herself into her bed post or something.

"Never mind. It's just a bruise. Nothing to worry about."

She cracked her neck again, "Are you sure? It really hurts."

I shrugged and started massaging the area around it, "That's probably because you hit it hard. It should fade away after a while."

She nodded and yawned, "Man I'm tired."

"Probably from drinking." I muttered.

She laughed a short, curt laugh and tried to pick up a thing of lip gloss, but it fell in the sink. "Weird." She muttered.

"What's weird?" I asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"My fingers… they feel stiff." She mumbled, yawning again. "Why can't… I move them?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and lifted her hand, pinching her pinky, "Feel that?"

She shook her head, laughing sleepily, "No." She started to blink rapidly, "My vision's… becoming hazy."

"And you're slurring your words." I said, "Have you been drinking again?"

She shook her head, "I haven't, I swear Ashton." She yawned again, "Man, I'm sleepy."

Suddenly, she gripped her neck and bent down, "My neck is killing me!" She shrieked.

Damn it. This was bad.

"I'll be right back, Amber. I'm going to use your cell phone to call for help, is that okay?"

"Don't leave me!" She wailed.

Damn.

Without letting go of her, I felt through her purse, keeping an eye on her the whole time. Quickly I dialed the Bureau of Health, "We have an emergency. Send an ambulance ASAP."

I flipped the phone shut and held Amber, "They're on their way. Just stay with me and keep taking deep breaths."

Another scream filled the room and she started to dig at her neck, "It hurts, Ashton! Help me. Please." She started to sob.

Damn it. If I have never wished I was a medical expert, I did now.

"It's okay, Amber. Look at me and ignore your neck. You're going to be fine."

Her screams only got louder. Then, without any warning, she started to shrivel. Her hands, face, all of it started to wrinkle like an old woman. Her eyes started to glass over and the wound on her neck thickened and darkened in color. Her hair started to lose its color, going to an ash grey before falling out completely. She hunched over and stopped moving all together. Her body was cold and dry.

The mark on her neck started moving and I moved away, staring at it with wide eyes.

It opened and the room was filled with a sickening stench that I had only smelled once before – rotting flesh.

A wing popped out, followed by an antenna. Before I knew it, an entire insect was sitting on the ledge of the wound, slowly eating away at the black flesh.

I covered my nose and tried to keep the nausea under control. The stench was horrible. My eyes started to water as the insect looked at me.

A wasp.

It's long body and yellow and black color was recognizable even with my blurred vision. But when I blinked, it was gone, disappearing as fast as it appeared. Amber was still on the floor, unmoving and cold.

She was dead.


	3. Chapter Two

**Kitten Turned Tiger; the House in the Ground**

"It's time to wake up." A familiar voice said.

I groaned and opened my eyes.

I was sitting at a table in the middle of the restaurant, everything completely silent. No one was in there except two, bulky men, one being the one that interrogated me five years ago.

"I see you recognize me." He noted politely.

I took a deep breath to steady myself, "Sort of. I'm a little foggy." I lied. Even now, my head was clear. Amber was dead from a bee that had made a nest in her neck and now they were here. This wasn't good.

"That's to be expected. You experienced something terrible today." He said, surprisingly companionate. "Tell me everything you can remember." He said kindly, pulling out a digital notepad.

Keep your voice calm. Don't say anything that would seem out of the ordinary. "She had been complaining about a pain in her neck when I came in. We went to the bathroom so I could change and she could fix her makeup." I said, but stopped. There was something about the way he was looking at me, something about his smile, that made me stop. The way he wasn't typing anything on the notepad, the way he wasn't offering any sign of condolence told me what I needed to know.

He was testing me.

My eyes narrowed unconsciously. Damn him. He was trying to take advantage of my amnesia to get answers. But why would he need to use such methods? I was innocent, so why would I lie?

Unless he didn't think I was innocent.

"Something wrong?" He asked, a little edge in his voice.

The glare wiped from my face and I shook my head weakly, "No. I have a splitting headache, sorry. I'm trying to remember."

The smile returned, the edge was gone, "It's okay. How about we continue this conversation at the Bureau of Safety?"

I shook my head, "No, that's okay. Can I have a glass of water, though?"

His smile hardened, "I think that was a rhetorical question. What I meant to say was: We'll continue this conversation at the Bureau of Safety."

Keep calm. Don't give them any reason to suspect you. "Why? It's perfectly fine here."

His jaw clenched, "I see you're still the same defiant, little girl you were five years ago."

"There's just one difference." I said.

He raised an eyebrow, "Do tell."

I flipped the table with my knee and shot out of the chair. The other bulky guy came at me and I threw a punch at his face, successfully getting his nose.

"Damn it." I heard the other hiss.

I turned around just in time to get him in the side with my heel, "I'm not some little girl anymore asshole."

An unfamiliar click was heard at the base of my ear. It was the click of a gun. And not the tranquilizers that were allowed, but an old fashioned one, one that only hunters liked to use when they hunted animals.

"If I were you, I'd behave. Even if you are fast, I doubt you're faster than my bullet." A cold, emotionless voice said.

I growled, but dropped my guarded stance.

"Good girl." He said.

Another man walked in from of me and cuffed my wrists with rounded, steel-plated handcuffs.

"Now, if you promise to be a good girl the entire trip, we'll leave your family alone."

I studied the handcuffs. They were made out of thick steel, more than likely a strong, unbreakable component added to it. If I aimed it just right, there would be a slight chance that I would be able to block a bullet with it, but I would need to know what the bullets were made of, how fast it goes, and it's killing rate.

Damn. They didn't teach us that kind of stuff in the Special Course within the amount of time I was there.

"Careful, Captain." The interrogator I was familiar with said, "She used to be a Super Elite."

"I know that, Stone." The captain hissed, "She's the one with the temper who aided the VC."

I resisted the urge to raise my eyebrow. What temper? I had a hard time dealing with people trying to make me feel lesser than what I am. Was there anything wrong with that?

"Sorry Sir. I was just making sure." Stone said.

"Let's get her in the cruiser before she does something else. I want to get this over with quickly so I don't have to deal with it anymore."

Two officers stepped in from of me and another two brought up the back. So this was the kind of escort Shere was talking about.

Shere…

Would I end up like him? Stuck in a facility with nothing to look forward to but some weird kid's opened window? Would I have a VC implanted in me? Or would they execute me for assaulting an officer? The death penalty had been abolished for over ten years now, but there's no telling what these corrupt soldiers would do to me.

"Nice weather we're having." Stone said, as if this was just a normal car ride to the park.

The captain, who was driving, nodded in response.

"What do you think, Ashton?" He asked, turning to look at me.

I study him, trying to decipher his motives, "I don't particularly like the sunlight." I answered honestly.

"That's good. Because where we're going, there isn't going to be much sun or any light for that matter."

He slipped.

"We're not going to the Safety Bureau, are we?" I asked.

The captain realized he had made a mistake.

"Where are we going?" I demanded.

"You don't have any right to ask questions." The captain hissed.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the steel handcuffs. With enough force, I could definitely knock them out…

"I wouldn't try anything." Stone said, "You're family would pay for it."

"Hey, do you think that twins actually feel the pain the other one feels?" A guy next to me said.

"Let's find out." The other next to me said.

He rammed the end of his gun into my stomach and I gasped for air, clenching my teeth.

"That's no fun. She isn't crying out."

Stone leaned down and looked at me, "There's not even tears in her eyes."

I spit in his face, earning me a tug on my hair from asshole number three – the one sitting on my left.

"Where do you get this spirit from? You think someone's going to save you? Is that it? You think that this is all going to be settled?"

"Tell me where you're taking me and why you're taking me there and I'll be good." _Maybe_. I added silently in my head.

No sunlight. No light. Were they taking me to the Correctional Facility?

"Didn't we tell you?" Stone's voice had gone gentle again, like he was trying to ease the idea in my mind or something, "You're a prime suspect in murder cases all around No. 1."

"Murder cases? What do you mean?"

"Of course. When you were younger, the city revoked your privileges. Now you're a sensitive and overemotional teenage girl who thought the city did you wrong so you want revenge. With your bright mind and mountain of knowledge, you created a serum to kill humans without being able to detect it. That's why everyone's dying mysterious deaths."

I smirked and something bubbled inside of me and I laughed, "Honestly, that is the best story I have ever heard."

"You're pretty care-free to be able to laugh in this situation."

"If I was honestly going to kill people in the city, don't you think that you four would be the first to go? That would make more since seeing as how you're the one who took away my privileges." I said, smirking. This was too much. Maybe I was going crazy from the fact of being locked up like a dog. Or maybe I had always been crazy. Whatever it was, I found the idiots surrounding me completely funny.

"But we're the saviors. Just as you were about to take your revenge on a man who was trying to save your last victim, we stepped in and saved the day."

I rolled my eyes, "Please. This type of things doesn't happen in real life."

"And you've always had an underlying hate for the city. You've been rebellious since you were eleven with the saving of that boy."

Shere…

"Did you know we eventually caught him?" Stone added.

My eyes widened a little.

"That's right. We caught him only a few days after we got done talking to you." I bit my tongue, "He didn't last long with the wounds we inflicted on him."

Something hurt. My chest was killing me and my eyes stung. My lungs were on the verge of collapsing and I was having problems breathing.

He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't.

"It was a peaceful death thought. Even if he was a criminal, he was only a child. There was no reason to make him suffer."

My hands felt clammy and the handcuffs felt heavier than they were when they had first put them on.

He wasn't dead. There was no way.

Stone snickered and turned around.

I let myself sit back in the cushioned seat and stared out at the scenery. We were heading towards the West Block of No. 1. The buildings were replaced with brightly-colored trees that blocked out most of the sun's glare.

"They're lying." I whispered, "Right Shere?"

"What was that?" Stone asked, facing me again.

I ignored him and focused on the trees outside. There were more and more of them as we continued down the narrow road. The sun was almost completely blocked and I could see birds flying about.

Suddenly, the car stopped on a small bridge, the Captain staring straight ahead.

"Stone, go get that thing out of the way."

I looked in the front long enough to see a robot standing randomly in the middle of the road, holding a trey of alcoholic drinks.

Stone opened the door and stood there for a minute, examining it.

Without warning, someone jumped from under the bridge, using his arms to lift himself up. His black cloak-like thing flapped in the wind. It was wrapped around his shoulders and covering most of his face. The outfit under it looked like it was ready for battle. Black shirt that conformed to his body and army jeans with the camouflage pattern and everything.

He took on Stone, getting him in the cheek with a powerful punch.

The Captain tried to get out of the car in time, but the guy was faster, flipping over the car and landing a blow with the heel of his foot.

Two down, two to go.

Asshole number three tried to get out of the car, but the guy kicked the door, causing his head to smash in the glass.

Ouch. That had to hurt.

Asshole number four – the one that was sitting on my right side – was out of the car and fired a shot at the culprit.

The bullet nicked the top of his hoodie and I heard small feet on top of the car.

It was Shere!

He was a lot taller now and more bulky, but there was no mistaken those silver-blue eyes.

Asshole number four groaned in pain and I looked over at him. A little kitten had latched it's claws on his face and was holding on tight. Shere tossed his cloak on him and came around the back of the car just in time to hold a knife to his throat.

"Where are the keys?" He demanded in a low voice.

"M-my pocket." The guard trembled.

Instead of slitting his throat, Shere punch him in the gut, knocking him out as well, and grabbed the keys to unlock my handcuffs. He tossed them aside and jumped in the driver's seat.

"Shere!"

"Hang on tight." He stated, making a sharp U-turn and flooring it.

The car, however, had different plans. After only a few yards, the car came to a screeching stop, causing Shere to bang his head off the steering wheel and me to be thrown against the backseat with a painful thud.

The car was going in reverse on it's own!

I looked back to see three out of the four idiots standing up, some even hunched over.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, "Remote controlled, eh?"

I watched as he bent over and started messing with some wires on the bottom of the dashboard.

"Shere?"

He ignored me and continued what he was doing.

I sighed silently and looked behind us again. The goons had regained themselves and were now pulling out their guns, readying themselves for us.

"Get ready to jump." Shere said.

I turned back to him just in time to see him wrap the black cloth around both of us. He tucked my head into his chest and securely wrapped his arms around my waist. There was a loud banging noise and suddenly we were air born. We hit the ground softer than I imagined and started rolling. We didn't stop until we rammed into a tree.

Shere unwrapped me and stood above me on his knees, looking at the car still heading towards the goons on the bridge. He pulled out a small controller and pressed the button. I heard a loud boom and realized the car must have exploded. Pieces of the bridge were falling to the water below it, splashing and creating more noise.

The cloth was known as Super Fiber Cloth, a very strong and resistant substance that protected things. It was strong enough to divert a bullet, despite it's thin and lightweight. Only the highest ranking officers in No. 1 were allowed to have one, mainly because creating them was extremely difficult to do.

He stood up and held out his hand. I took it and dusted myself off.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Then let's go."

He ran deeper in to the woods and I followed him, trying to keep my balance.

Sirens were heard in the distance and he clicked his tongue again.

"Get rid of your bracelet. Now."

"Why?" I asked, simply out of curiosity.

"Because they can track you with it. Get rid of it."

I gripped the ugly thing and ripped it off, tossing it into the bushes without a second thought.

A kitten scooped it up in its mouth and ran off.

"As childish as it is, he'll buy us some time."

"What do we do now?" I asked, facing him, "How are we supposed to escape with over half the city's forces after us?"

He smirked, "That."

It was a small, patrol truck that was closer to the ground than usual trucks. There was a yellow, flashing light that was used when there were hazardous materials in the back, opened trunk. The entire thing was painted an ugly brown, another sign that it was from the disposal system.

"Come on."

He got in the driver's side and I climbed in the passenger side. He didn't even give me enough time to shut the door completely before he sped through the trees.

I gripped the seat.

He looked over at me and chuckled, "It's interesting to see you scared. I don't think I've ever seen that expression on your face."

I shot him a glare, "That's because your speeding through the trees like they can't kill us if we hit one."

"In this car, they won't." He said, turning back on the dirt path, "Even if this thing is small, it's strong and safe."

I relaxed a little when we sped on to the street and made a sharp turn towards No. 1's dumping center.

There was no sign in the rearview mirror of anyone following us, so I let out a relief sigh and turned to Shere with a smile.

He glanced at me, "What is it?"

"Thanks for saving me."

There was a pause before he snickered, "Haven't you noticed?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Noticed what?"

"I'm taller than you."

My eyes widened, "No way."

"And haven't you been eating anything? You look a lot more fragile than you did the last time I saw you. I doubt you have enough confidence to take off your clothes in front of your lover." He teased, smirking.

I crossed my arms, "Whatever. It's not like you've seen me naked before, so shut it."

"What if I said I have?"

He continued laughing at my expense, shoulders shaking in sync with the cloth wrapped around them.

I was the one that tended to that shoulder so many years ago.

A lot has changed since then. The little boy that looked as fragile as a girl was now sitting next to me with a strong presence. His shoulders had broadened a great deal and he had bulked up quite a bit. I could actually see his muscles under the dark long-sleeve. His hair was still a dark black, but it was shorter with side-cut bangs that dangled over his right eye a little. There wasn't a hint of the frailty that needed my protection; it had been taken completely over by his mental and physical strength.

"Shere, have you been watching me this entire time?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. There was that kitten the other day and you saved me as if you knew this was going to happen."

"Don't flatter yourself." He said coldly, "Do I look that bored?"

"Then explain how you knew I was there." I demanded.

He snickered, "You never change. If someone doesn't answer, you get frustrated and lose your cool. That temper of yours is why you were prosecuted after helping me, wasn't it?"

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms again, "Don't patronize me like you know me. We're strangers, remember?" I tasted the word 'strangers' on my tongue and it tasted wrong. We weren't strangers, but we didn't know each other. Does that make sense?

He didn't respond; he just kept his gaze on the road.

"They told me you died." I said, the harshness erasing from my voice, "They said they got you only a few hours after they stopped questioning me."

He smirked, "Like hell they did. Don't tell me you believed them."

"Well…" Yeah. A little.

He clicked his tongue, "Tch. Shows how much faith you had in my abilities back then."

"It's not my fault." I said defensively, "You didn't show up, you did try to contact me, nothing. I thought you were still alive, but I didn't know for sure."

"And what exactly would you have done if I had shown up? You said it yourself: We're strangers. Not long lost friends."

His words turned my blood cold. My arms fell to my lap and I looked out the window.

What the hell were we? We were strangers. Nothing else.

We went under a giant tunnel under one of the few mountains No. 1 had in it. When we emerged from the other side, the city gate was visible… along with several cruisers were coming our way.

"Here we go." Shere said, making another sharp U-turn.

Instead of heading through a mountain pass like I figured he would have to do, he went straight to the entrance gates.

"This is bad, Shere. We can't pass without an ID bracelet." I said.

"Shut up and watch." He said. His foot pressed the gas pedal and the car sped up.

90.

100.

110.

120.

130.

140.

At a hundred and fifty miles per hour, we crashed through the gate, shattering the metal bars to scrap metal with glass flying everywhere.

The next obstacle was the Waste Center. It didn't have many defenses besides a solid steel wall that closed on all the windows and doors when the gates were compromised in any manner. Which meant, they were already starting to go down.

"Seriously, we're not going to make it." I said.

"Shut up and get down."

I looked at him, "What?"

"Get down." He ordered, grabbing the back of my head and forcing me to bend down. The car busted through the glass, the metal wall taking the entire top part of the truck clean off. The car skidded against the tiled floors until we rammed into a glass escalator.

I had a ringing in my ears and a pounding in my head.

Shere stood up and looked around, "Let's go. We don't have time to rest."

I sat up and nodded at him, standing up on the car's seat. He outstretched his hand and I took it. He helped me out of the ruined truck and looked around before he grabbed my hand.

"Keep up and don't get lost."

I nodded and he led the way through the Waste Center.

No one worked in the Waste Center, it was completely animatronic. The city thought it was a waste of money to spend on new robots, so these were the outdated versions, uncaring that two fugitives were running right behind him. The outdated cameras in the upper corners of the room were far too old to operate the way No. 1 needed, so they were easy to avoid. Still, Shere gracefully moved in their blind spots, avoiding any detection at all.

Giant cone-shaped machines were spinning in groups of tens. Any trash that couldn't be recycled or used as fuel was smashed here and burned, after which they dumped it into the sewer lines that ran below the city. We headed up the broken escalator and into the mouth of the Waste Center, where everything was dumped into the sewer lines. It smelled awful and the ground was slippery.

Graceful as I was, I caught my foot on a small hole on the metal floor and about fell into the machines chomping away at the disgusting garbage.

Shere caught me in time and helped me up, "For a Super Elite, you sure are clumsy." He mocked, turning back to the path ahead of us.

"Shut up. I'm not perfect, you know. I _am _human." I muttered, following more slowly behind him.

"I'm not so sure." He muttered in return.

I narrowed my eyes, but didn't say anything.

He was a lot colder than what he was five years ago too. Jerk.

We came to a river of sewage that was only halfway purified – it wasn't black like the other stuff, but it was still a dark brown. He looked over the railing and looked at me.

"How do you feel about swimming?"

I almost groaned. I was afraid he'd say that. "I'm an excellent swimmer as you've seen."

He smirked, remembering my diving adventures when we first met, "Then I don't have to worry about you drowning. That's one less thing."

The ceiling lights suddenly came on and heavy footsteps were heard far off in the distance.

"Damn. They're here." He handed me a pair of goggles, "These should help you see down there. Follow me and don't get caught."

I nodded.

"By the way, I honestly thought you were going to fight me on this." He said, a teasing in his voice.

"Enough with the jokes jerk. I'm not some stuck up snob contrary to your belief." I said, throwing myself over the railing.

He snickered and did as I did, only he landed in the water with a splash.

I took a deep breath and jumped in right after him, the footsteps still off in the distance.

The sewage was moving faster than it looked on the surface and the unknown floating stuff in it kind of made my skin crawl, but other than that I was ok. Thanks to the special goggles that Shere gave, I could see him almost as clear as if we were on the surface. He was swimming just a little ahead of me, studying the walls with surprising focus. He must have been waiting to see something.

He moved to the wall gently and turned some kind of lever. The water drained and we were pulled through the current rather violently, spinning and splashing around. The cold air surprised me and I coughed a little.

"I see you lived." He commented, "Not bad for a rich girl."

I shot him a glare, "If you keep calling me names, I'm going to hit you."

He laughed, "I'd like to see you try."

I rolled my eyes. Cocky jerk. "Where are we?"

"An old sewer line. It's a relic of the 20th century, but it still comes in handy from time to time." He shook his face from side to side, droplets of brown water falling from it, before he ran a hand through his hair, "When the sewer gets above a certain volume, it drains into this one."

"Where does it end up?" I asked, looking around. I guess what I wanted to ask was: Where are you taking me.

"The West District."

"Isn't that a little town on the edge of No. 1's walls? People live there. How could they just dispose waste on people's home?" How irritating, conceited, and immoral. What the hell was wrong with people?

Shere shrugged, "That's your utopian city for you."

I was about to ask where he was taking me, but kept my mouth shut. Did it really matter anyway? We'd get there and that'd be it.

"Come on."

He climbed on top of the medium-sized, concrete drain that we had come out of and pushed at the roof. Another circular entrance popped open and he hoisted himself up using his arms. "You're turn."

I took a deep breath and followed his lead, hoisting myself on to the circular drain. Luckily, he held out his hand and helped me get myself out.

It was like an ancient city. An old, rundown fountain was on my left. The ivory build was still shining white with patches of brown staining it. It obviously hadn't been used in over a decade. On the other side of the fountain was a cracked bench and a walkway by it that had stairs that led to somewhere.

I kind of wanted to see where, but refrained from it as Shere headed up a thing of rubble. Quickly, I gathered myself and followed him. When we got to the top, I saw the shacks of stores and houses gathered near the outside wall of No. 1, whose large, tall wall was glittering in the sunlight.

Shere slid down the hill and waited patiently for me to follow him more slowly. I had no desire to break my neck trying to mimic what he did. Of course, try as I may, I still stumbled near the end.

Shere caught me with a smirk. "You really are clumsy. That's kind of funny." He chuckled.

I glared and straightened up, "Hush. I can't help it. I'm not used to this kind of terrain."

"No, I don't think that's it. I think you're just naturally clumsy."

A sudden pain in my neck caused me to cringe. I rubbed the crook of it, feeling a small blister-like bump on it. It itched slightly and I groaned. I must have gotten something from the damn sewage water. Gross.

Shere looked at me, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." I said with a sigh.

He smirked, "You're not gonna whine and say you can't go on, are you?"

I narrowed my eyes, "No. I'm perfectly capable of walking thank you very much. But if you'd rather carry me then I won't argue."

"I think I'll pass."

We headed in the direction opposite to the wall, getting farther and farther away from the old town. When we got to a hole in the ground, Shere scaled down the steps. At the bottom was an old door that looked like it was about to break off of its hinges. He opened it with a loud screech and walked into it.

I followed a little less willingly. When I was sure the roof wasn't going to collapse or something I walked in.

It was a fairly big space. The walls were obviously recently cemented and the floor had only a thin layer of mossy green carpet covering it – I could still feel the coolness of the concrete under it. Most of the right side of the room was taken up by shelves filled with mountains of books. On the right side, near the door, was an acoustic upright piano. Directly in front of me was a bed big enough for one person. A clean, white sheet covered the mattress, but the thin, dark blue comforter was in a clump at the foot of the bed. A fairly new-looking, red couch was stretched against the wall to my left side – meaning it was at the head of the bed – with a square pillow on one of the corners. A coffee table was placed in front of the couch with several books and magazines on it.

"Welcome to your palace, your Majesty." Shere said, bowing mockingly, "I hope it's fitted to your taste."

I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the couch. It was a little stiff, but it wasn't too bad. "Is this your house?"

He shrugged, "If you can call it that."

I sighed. Looks like my time here is going to be… interesting to say the least.


	4. Chapter Three

**Burning New Look; Enter John, the Strange Dog Keeper**

"I'm done." Shere said, entering the room shirtless and dripping wet, a towel casually dangling around his neck.

I blinked and tried to avoid staring at him. "Cool." I muttered lamely and cleared my throat.

"What's up with you?" He asked, rubbing the towel against his hair.

"I am a girl, ya know." I said, trying to give him a little hint.

I heard him snicker and I had to look at him. The jerk was smirking!

"I forgot. You're probably not used to seeing guys go around half naked." I narrowed my eyes at him, "That's right! I interrupted you when that guy was asking if you wanted to have sex, didn't I? Not that it was going well anyway."

I shot off of the couch, "I'm going to the shower."

He chuckled, but threw me a towel, "There are some clothes hanging on a metal pole in there. They're probably too big, but they should do."

"Thanks." I said, still avoiding his chest. Quickly, I walked through the bookshelves to another old door.

The door led to a fairly large bath house. Pipes were sticking out of the cemented walls and rumble consisting of bricks and broken concrete was piled in a good bit of the room. A few rust barrels sat against a concrete bath that had another rusted pipe that led to a heater. Near the heater was a metal post with clothes hanging on it. He had already ran the water for me, so the tub was filled with steaming water.

I smiled a little and stripped down.

The water was scorching hot, but it still felt good. It had been awhile since I had had any sort of exercise training, so all that running and swimming today had me a little worn out.

I yawned and dunked under the water, letting the water heat up my sore muscles and stiff neck. The blister had gone away, but I think I hurt it when Shere shoved my head down when we crashed into the Waste Facility.

After soaking for a few minutes (and scrubbing the disgusting dirt stains my legs were caked in), I got out and dried off with the towel before looking at the clothes Shere had left for me.

The long-sleeve, button-up shirt was definitely going to be too big, and the grey sweats weren't going to be any better, but it was better than the mud-painted clothes lying on the floor, right?

I slipped on the shirt and almost sighed. It was practically a dress, going down to my thighs, and the sleeves went just past my fingertips, making me feel like a little girl trying on her dad's clothes. How the hell did he get so freaking tall in only five years? With an annoyed sigh, I picked up a clean towel and started wrapping it around my chest. Since I didn't have any bras with me (and since it would more than likely be a while before I got anymore), a tightly wrapped towel was going to have to cut it. When that was taken care of, I buttoned up the shirt and grabbed the sweats, pulling them on as well. They hung off my waist, but thanks to the giant shirt, you could hardly tell.

I stepped out of the washroom and back to Shere's room… or was it his living room? I still wasn't quite sure which.

"What do you want me to do with my clothes?" I asked.

He was lying on his back on his bed, reading some classic book. He still hadn't put on a shirt and his hair was still damp.

"You can just throw them in the tub and let them soak so the mud'll be easier to get off." He said, not looking away from the page.

I did as he said and even tossed his in there with mine. When I came back, three kittens were crowded around him, snuggled up to his either of his sides and one lying on his chest. I recognized the one nearest to the wall as the one I saw last night with Dakota.

Dakota…

Aaron…

Mom…

"Hey Shere, is there any way to contact my mom and brother and let them know I'm alright?" I asked.

"Not a chance." He said automatically.

"Don't say it so quickly." I grumbled.

He sighed, "You need to forget about them. Having ties to people will only bring you down and make you vulnerable. Cut the ties, forget the memories, and live for yourself."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Because they're dangerous. You threw away your bracelet because it was dangerous, right? Feelings and memories and all of the bullshit are the same way. People will twist and turn them, using them to hurt you and before you know it, you'll follow them into some kind of trap, getting yourself killed along with them. Your mom, your dad, your brother, that guy, they're all strangers to you now. You don't have time to worry about strangers. Worry about yourself and fight for your survival." His voice was cold and emotionless with an edge to it.

"What a selfish and lonely way to live." I muttered, glaring at him. My fists clenched and I took a step towards his bed, "Then what about you?" I demanded harshly.

He finally looked at me, "Me?"

"Yeah. You risked your life to save me. I'm more of a stranger to you than anyone else. Why save me? Why step into the danger zone?"

He slammed his book shut and got off the bed, "You have a disgusting personality, you know that?" He growled, grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me closer to him just so he could glare down at me, "You saved my life once. I was returning the favor. Nothing more."

I returned his scrutinizing gaze and even grabbed his wrist. The muscles were tense and tight. "Let go of me."

"You first idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot." I said between clenched teeth.

"Or what?" He said, a grim smirk on his lips.

"I'll bite you." I threatened.

He chuckled darkly, "Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but I've learned how to fight in the past five years."

An opening! My hand slid down his arm and around his neck, making him bend down further to reach my face. "I'm not playing. Let go."

His smirk widened, "Let me show you how I bite."

He moved towards my cheek and I immediately let go of his neck, trying to shove at his chest, "Cut it out jerk. I'm mad at you, not in the mood for foreplay."

He laughed, "Foreplay? Idiot. You have a long way to go if you think a bite on the cheek is foreplay."

I punched his chest and somehow we got tangled up. I think I tripped over a book or something and he must have too because the next thing I knew, we were falling on the bed, me landing on top of him.

"Ouch." I muttered, "Jerk. What was that for?"

"Who's the one who punch who? You're the reason we fell, idiot." He said, "Now get off. You're heavy."

I shoved myself up, making sure to use a little more force than needed, "Stop calling me an idiot before I hurt you."

"Yeah, yeah." He said boredly, obviously no longer in the mood for any more of our argument.

A kitten latched on to the sweats I was wearing and climbed up to my shoulder, rubbing against my cheek. I laughed, "Hi there. Aren't you cute."

"That little guy is the one who told me you were in trouble." Shere said matter-of-factly. "They're equipped with thousands of sensors. They can move fairly easily through No. 1 without getting much attention from the robots protecting that holy city."

I rubbed its head with my finger and smiled, "Thanks." It was warm like a living creature and I could feel it's tiny heartbeat.

He was smart too. This guy was just full of surprises.

That brought up an old question… "Hey Shere, you have been watching me, haven't you?"

He sighed and sprawled out on his bed, "Yes." He confirmed, "I didn't know when or how the city was going to try to eliminate you, so I had him keep an eye on you. You're young, gifted, and useful for many different things. I didn't think they would drive you out, I figured they'd use you. It's easy to frame someone for murder or something. You became their escape goat. You'd be showily beheaded for everyone to see. You were raised for that purpose, just like a goat."

"First an idiot, now a goat? Nice." I said coldly.

"Goats are cute. I have more affection for them than I do you."

"Gee, thanks for those kind words." I said, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms, "So what? If there's something odd in the air, this little guy sends a warning to you?"

"Yep. Your coworker died with no one but you around. You, the person whose been known for her defiant attitude and fast temper. It was the perfect time to arrest you."

I groaned and ran a shaky hand throw my hair. I was suddenly feeling light headed, "I didn't notice them watching me. Or even you for that matter. I only saw that kitten when it came up to me while I was talking to Dakota."

"It was done so you wouldn't notice, of course. And by the time you did notice, it was too late."

Well, on the bright side, last night, when I thought I heard him, it technically _was _him. Or his little robot friend at least.

My head started pounding and I fell to my knees, gripping the coffee table. My neck was on fire.

"Ashton? What's wrong?" Shere's voice was rushed in my ear.

I groaned. Sharp pain stripped through my head and my neck continued to burn. My fingers stiffened and the muscles in my legs locked.

"Hang on, Ashton. I'll call a doctor-"

With little strength, I grabbed his pants and shook my head. It was too late for a doctor. They would never make it in time anyway.

"Shit." He said, bending back down, "What do I do?"

"My… neck..." I spitted out, "Cut in the blister on my neck and take the damn thing out."

"Take what out? I don't have any anesthetic."

"Don't care. Just get it out." My voice was becoming raspy and my lungs were tugging at my throat. It was getting harder to talk.

I felt my body being lifted, but I was concentrating on keeping conscious. If I passed out now, I wouldn't wake up. There was no doubt about it.

Hot needles stabbed at my skull, demanding my attention. They seemed to be coming from every direction at once, ruthlessly and without mercy. Nausea forced itself down my throat and it felt like acid was chewing away at my neck. My lungs wheezed, desperate for air, but it was too painful to breathe in. Everything was starting to go dark. It was as if someone was tugging at me, gently easing me into complete black.

Something thick and bitter was shoved down my throat and I was brought out of the darkness and back to the pain.

"Open your eyes."

Silver-blue eyes stared at me, concern written all over them.

"Just… let me… die… jerk…" My voice was faint and breathless.

The eyes ignited and something hot flashed in them, "Idiot. You think I saved you just so you could die when you got here? Don't make me smack you. I don't give a damn if you're a girl or not."

The liquid was forced down my throat and the darkness ebbed away. The pain, however, intensified. Something was crawling in my head, chirping in my ears.

_Scream…_ one of the disgusting insects said, grinning like it had won.

Was I imagining this? Damn it. I wouldn't scream.

Still… my fingers clawed at something under me, desperately trying to keep from making a sound.

It hurt. Why wouldn't it just stop?

"Scream." Shere's voice resonated in my ears, "It's okay to scream. Don't hold it in."

Screw him. What did he know?

Pressure tightened my body and my energy was fading. I needed to sleep. Once I wake, everything will be fine, right? The pain will be gone, right? Ugh. Where the hell were all the damn noises coming from?

"Stubborn. Stay awake. I'm going to operate and this isn't a fancy electric knife, so stay still." Shere was holding a scalpel.

That was easy. I could do that. The pain and exhaustion had me paralyzed. Movement wasn't even a possibility at this point.

Three little kittens sat huddled in a corner, a rounded ticking clock above them. It was strange to see such an old clock – everything in No. 1 had change to digital a long time ago. Of course, I could still read it, but it wasn't so much it's appearance that irritated as it was the sound that it was making.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

It was like it was cutting up time. Things blurred before my vision. The kittens melted into the walls, the clock dripped down to the floor, mashing with the carpet and cement. My eyes burned, but were completely dry – I didn't even have the strength to cry. My cheeks felt hot and the weight on my chest only worsened.

"I'm done." Shere's voice pulled me away from the blurred images. He took a deep breath and something hit the floor – the silver scalpel. "You didn't lose too much blood, so that's not a problem. Does it hurt?"

I wanted to laugh. Of course it did. "No. Can I just sleep now?"

"Not yet." He shook his head gently, "Only a little longer."

His voice was so far away. The only thing that was even remotely loud was the ticking of the clock. I needed sleep…

"Damn it, Ashton. What the hell do you know? You're already sixteen and you don't know anything about life. That guy offered to have sex with you and you rejected him. You haven't experienced sex or love or any of that bullshit."

Shut up! Just shut up! Does it look like I care right now?

"Your mom will cry, idiot! And what about your twin? He's suffering with you. Right now, he's probably curled in a ball on his bed, crying out in pain. Are you going to leave him alone to suffer while you go to sleep and relax? What happened to that bullshit about it being selfish? Or are you a hypocrite like the rest of them. Damn it, Ashton! Open your eyes!"

His voice was cold and frantic. Was he worried? Did he care?

I wanted to see it for myself.

I peeked through narrow eyes. My eyelids were heavy and it was hard to keep them open, but the look on Shere's face made it worth it.

He was angry without a doubt – his normal silver-blue eyes were darker, the blue no longer shined as white as it used to – but there was a spark of concern in his eyes. Next to him, a pure white kitten stared at me with cherry eyes, waiting for the ok to come lay next to me.

"That's it, baby. Just stay with me."

That disgusting liquid was forced in my mouth several times. Just when I was about to sleep, something would flick me or bite me and I would be woken up again. It felt like it went on forever. My temperature spiked and I was no longer able to fight the nausea, vomiting almost every second. Any water in my body must have been drained; I felt like a dried up fruit or something. It didn't matter how many times I asked for water, (even if it was given to me only short minutes after asking for it) I was still thirsty.

Warm fingers ran through my hair, "You can sleep now."

"I can?" I questioned, already half way into the darkness.

"Yeah, you're out of the woods now. It's quite an accomplishment. You should feel proud of yourself."

His voice, his touch, it was all affectionate. A sense of relief flooded my body and the darkness completely took over.

* * *

><p>The tiger continued stroking her hair. She had passed out, but it was okay now. Ashton was going to be okay.<p>

He was a little shaken, but calm. He wasn't upset.

She was going to be okay.

He wasn't just talking to talk when he said it was an accomplishment – he really felt that way. She had achieved a hard task all because she was stubborn and hard headed.

He smirked a little. It annoyed him that he was wrong about her fragility. Even now, she looked like the slightest movement could break her in half. She was, after all, incredibly pale and small. But at the same time, he was glad she was tougher than met the eye. That made her different from the disgusting creatures residing in No. 1.

He only realized how tired he was when he met Ashton's exhausted face. It wasn't his body, though, just his mind. He was still trying to process what had just happened.

No. 1.

Inside that Holy City, something was starting to happen. Something beyond human imagination was happening and progressing without warning.

His eyes once again drifted to the black, ovular thing on a small petri dish and then again to the small girl curled in his bed.

He couldn't believe it. Occasionally, things happened that he couldn't believe. That's just how reality worked. It betrays people and drags them on some strange courses. Even if it's comically cruel and harsh, you can't have faith in it. It betrays you. He knew that all too well.

But, his reality was faltering.

A kitten rubbed his wrist and he realized he had stopped stroking Ashton's hair. He sighed and continued, the kitten going back to Ashton's side.

His fingers felt the softness of it and he was filled with doubt. Would she be able to handle this reality? She was strong, he knew that, but would she be able to endure it? A citizen of that damn Holy City until she was sixteen… it was possible that she would break.

He shook his head.

He had forgotten. Not once during her fight had she screamed. Not once. It was as if she was afraid he'd see something about her that no one was meant to see. And even though he knew she was in pain the entire time she was awake, the girl still had said 'No' when he asked her. The girl was strong. She would be able to handle it. He was almost sure of it.

After wiping her face with cool water and replacing the washcloth on her forehead with a new one, he softly opened the door and stepped out. Sunset was just over the hills. The sky was changing from purple to black, orange and yellow outlining the disgusting shiny walls.

"No. 1." Far off in the black distance, he saw the white walls of the Holy City, "Just you wait. I _will _tear you down."

The sun hid behind the walls, as if it was hiding from West District, and the sky was colored in darkening shades of several different colors. He watched until everything was blackened and another kitten came to warn him. Ashton had woken up.

* * *

><p>My throat was annoyingly dry and my entire body ached. I think every muscle I had cracked as I sat up and looked around.<p>

Three kittens stared up at me, watching my movements. One had positioned itself on my lap and started purring. I smiled and stroked its head, trying to think of where I could find water.

Shere's clothes were still on me, though they felt heavier than they did when I first put them on. The pain from earlier had faded, except for the dull pain of the wound on the crook of my neck.

I lived. And Shere saved me. Again.

I sighed. Saving me once, I understand. Twice, not so much. That guy was full of mysteries.

Gently, I picked the cat off of me and laid it on Shere's pillow, heading to the door. As long as I was dressed, it shouldn't matter if I go out for a little bit.

I walked passed a broken mirror on the wall, however, and caught a flash of blue. Quickly, I turned back to it and my eyes widened.

My long, black hair had faded to a cyan blue and my brown eyes were now a glowing red.

Holy. Freaking. Shit.

I grabbed a handful and sure enough, it was mine. I tried to rub my eyes, thinking maybe it was just my vision, but it didn't help. The glowing scarlet red was still there. Suddenly, it darkened.

I didn't even know how to react. My eyes were red and my hair was blue. Was there any _right_ way to act? Should I be disgusted? Happy? Was this the punishment for living?

"I see you're up." Shere said.

I looked over at the door to see him leaning against the paneling, watching me, "You've been asleep for three days."

"Really? It only felt like one." I said, trying to ignore my reflection.

"You know, if it irritates you that much, I'm sure we could die your hair back black. It's not a complicated color so there should be no problem finding it. As for your eyes…" He shrugged, "Personally, I think the red eyes are hot."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't want to hear that from you."

He walked over and grabbed a couple strands, staring down at me, "It's a pretty color. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

I nodded, but was suddenly distracted. This entire time, he's had to look down a little to talk to me. "Hey, you are taller than me!" I said, "How unfair."

He blinked and shook his head, "Man, you really are an idiot."

I crossed my arms and glared at him, "Shut up. No one asked you, you jerk."

A cat meowed at Shere's foot and started rubbing on his leg.

"He says we should eat. Are you hungry?" My stomach growled and he chuckled, "The soup's only been on the stove for a few minutes. I'll get you some."

I sat down on the couch as Shere grabbed a bowl and filled it with hot soup. He handed it to me and started putting stuff away. I took a drink of it and smiled. It was good, though I didn't know what over half the things in it were.

"It's got eight different types of vegetables in it, some meat, and a clove of garlic." Shere said, sitting next to me, "Good, ain't it?"

I nodded and smiled at him, "Who would've thought you were a good cook?"

He rolled his eyes, "Shut up and eat it before I regret letting you live."

That stopped me. He was right. This was the second time he's saved my life in one day.

I looked at him, "Thanks for saving me. Again."

He shrugged, "I didn't do anything. The medical equipment here sucks, but I don't think it would've helped either way. You came back on your own power. It didn't look like a trivial struggle either, so my opinion of you has changed. I no longer thing you're completely worthless."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks either way."

I finished eating and Shere took my bowl from me, setting it on the piano thing before handing me a white petri dish.

"I figured you'd be able to tell me what it was." He said, sitting on the bed.

Inside it was a black clump only a couple inches long.

"A pupa." I said. "Of a wasp more than likely."

"You can tell?" He sounded generally surprised.

"A wasp had flown out of Amber's neck." I said quietly, "It looks like this one was almost hatched."

"A parasitic insect nesting in humans… When did the egg enter your body?" He asked.

I shook my head, "I don't know. I don't remember being stung or anything like that. All I know is that the egg grows at an alarming rate and once it's fully grown, it lets off some gas or substance that kills its host almost instantly."

"But why didn't it hatch inside you?"

"Good question." I muttered, "It looks like it was trying to chew through, but it couldn't for some reason."

"So I'm not the only that thinks your weird."

I shot him a glare, "It's not funny."

He seemed to think it was. His muffled chuckles turned in to a roar of laughter. He was rolling on the bed and everything.

Annoyed and a little concerned of his mental stability, I picked up the metal container of water and threw it on him.

"Idiot. What was that for?" He growled.

"Well for one, I thought you were going crazy on me." I said.

"And why would you think I was going into hysterics?" He demanded, taking off his now-soaked shirt.

"You don't have to strip." I muttered.

"Now why the hell would you think I was going into hysterics?"

"Because you started laughing out of nowhere. That's practically the first sign."

He sighed and sat back down, "That's because I thought it was funny."

"Funny?"

"This thing came from No. 1. Mysterious killer bees are taking over the most "peaceful" city mankind knows. What a riot."

"It's _not_ funny! People are _dying_, Shere. There's nothing funny about it!" I practically yelled.

"It is funny!" He yelled back, "That damn city only accepts people that are completely submissive. It doesn't forgive people who fight, resist, or object. That's just how it works." His eyes narrowed.

"But-"

"You're one of those objective people." He interrupted.

"I'm one of those…"

"You bet it." His voice was emotionless, "You kept a VC in your home and even claimed he wasn't a criminal. Deep down, you knew the city was a lie. Another reason to kill you off." He stretched out on his bed and picked up a book, "And now that very same city is being attacked by killer bees. Serves them right."

"We have to do something! We can't let people just die. The people living in that city are my family and friends."

"It's futile."

"But I survived. There has to be some kind of serum that I could make. I was a majoring in Chemistry part time."

"Idiot. You think they'll believe you?"

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Ignore it." He said bluntly, "We'll have front row seats to the city's collapse." His smile was cold and dark.

"Shere!"

He shot up, "No more water." He said, holding out his hand to stop me.

"You think the West District will be safe? We're all humans. Those wasps could spread here!"

"Those people in that city don't consider us humans. This is just there damn dumb sight. Anything impure or what they consider trash is dumbed here. Besides, I have a hunch that those monsters will only infest the morons behind that wall. Nothing like that has happened here. But I've heard a number of stories about suspicious deaths, in No. 1, all labeled accidents. That damned city is asking for it."

I collapsed on the bed. Inside the walls… outside the walls… what was the difference? Shere was a human. He had a pulse and feelings. And Dakota and Aaron were humans. They had pulses, feelings, needs. Why was one different than the other? Why did one deserve to die because the other said? What was inhuman about the citizens in the wall? The government and the people controlling it, I understood – to an extent – but the citizen were practically innocent. The questions and lack of answers were making my head hurt.

Shere sighed and got up, "I'm sorry." He sat on the coffee table and placed his hand on my head, trailing it down to cup my cheek, "I didn't mean to torment you. I forgot you were one of them."

"I just don't understand if I'm one of them or not. I don't understand this 'inside' 'outside' business."

"Of course you don't know." His thumb rubbed my cheek gently, "That's because you never _tried _to understand what was outside of those walls. The thought to even find out never crossed your mind. You're ignorant, arrogant, fortunate people… But you're also pitiable. The only reason you slightly understand is because you've lost your privileges."

My mind was full with so many thoughts that I didn't know what to say, so I looked into Shere's eyes.

Not knowing anything, and being arrogant, if that's how I lived because I was at the top, then the fall to the bottom made me realize a small truth. Because I was a Psychology major, I knew he wasn't bad, so I knew the city had a different reason for having him. I didn't know the reason, but I knew there had to be one. It didn't matter. I've been satisfied with my fall for a while now – it never really bothered me in the first place.

But still…

"I wish I saw the world through your eyes, Shere." I said absently, placing my hand over his, "I wish I knew why you think the way you do, why you see the world with such cold eyes. The truth… the reality… I wish I knew what it did to you to make you the way you are."

He blinked, surprised, and smiled, shaking his head, "Come with me."

I removed my hand and he took his back, standing up, "It's cold and dark outside, so you don't have to worry about being seen." He paused before he picked up the Super fiber cloak and threw it at me, "This should keep you warm."

He slipped on a dark shirt and wrapped a black scarf around his neck before he opened up the door.

He was right. It was cold. I could see my breath in the air and feel the prickling cold on my arms. Quickly, I wrapped the cloak around my shoulders and cuddled in it.

Shere was walking down the hill at a rather fast pace. I was just trying my best to keep up with him without falling on my face.

"Where are we going, Shere?" I asked.

"A hotel."

"Hotel? What kind of-" My eyes had fallen on a dead bee lying on the ground. I had forgotten that winter was coming soon. "Winter!"

Shere turned to me and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"It's winter! Most bees, including wasps, hibernate in winter. The parasitic eggs should stay dormant during winter and when spring comes, they'll all hatch at once."

He whistled, "I like the sound of that. It'll be like a spring festival. What's the name of the day celebrating the founding of No. 1 again?"

"The Holy Day."

"The Holy Day!" He snorted, "But during their fun and games, the bees will hatch and consume their hosts, filling the air with screams." He laughed, "That'll be something to see."

He continued walking and I stared at his retreating figure, "Shere…"

"Huh?" He called back without looking at me.

"Why do you hate No. 1 so much?"

He stopped walking, one foot paused in front of the other.

"Why?"

Silence filled the air. The crickets were abnormally loud as I stared at his unmoving body, wondering if I would get yelled at again.

Instead, he just continued walking, ignoring me as if I hadn't asked anything.

I sighed and followed behind him more slowly.

We arrived in a town with small shacks and fairly tall buildings. Some looked better than others, while some looked like a bulldozer hitting it would make it look better. Shere led me through the mass of different houses to a building about three stories tall and at least an acre wide. The building was in a square shape, wrapping around the land entirely except for one side. In the middle was a large, old, but still working, white fountain. It was the only thing I could tell was useful. The rest of the yard had scattered cardboard pieces and other types of littered trash.

The inside, however, looked worse than the outside. It looked abandoned. What looked like a fountain was now just a circular trash bin with long things of wood in it. The check in counter was dusty and cracked – it obviously hadn't been used in years either. The floor was caked in dirt, making the already-brown carpet look grungy and gross. Near the worn staircase was a squared, red carpet with two red, reclining chairs facing the stairs. The stairs led up to a hallway that stretched around the top, lining it with railing, so that I could see the entire second floor, except for a hallway on the left side that lead eastward.

"This place used to be a hotel?" I asked in disbelief.

"It still is." Shere said.

I almost snorted. There was no way this place was actually inhabited with humans.

A growl caused me to stiffen. Suddenly, growls started to emit from every hidden place. A dog stepped in to view, baring its teeth. More started appearing, some from behind the unused counter and others from the rubble in the fountain.

Shere didn't show any emotion. He simply pulled out a knife and flipped it open, one hand still in his pocket.

They surrounded us and Shere's eyes gleamed. He was calculating.

A dog approached me and I stared at it, waiting for an attack. Instead, however, it suddenly whined and sat down, sticking out it's tongue cutely and wagging it's tail. I bent down and it jumped me, licking my face.

I laughed, "Hey! Cut it out!"

Shere looked at me with surprise.

"Did we pass the test?" I guessed.

He simply rolled his eyes.

The dog continued to lick me and eventually pushed me down. I laughed as it placed it's paws on my shoulders and barked. When it wasn't snarling like a beast, it was actually a pretty dog. Soft, brown fir with big caramel eyes.

Someone laughed from far away. It was a throaty and… guy-ish laugh, "Welcome guest. And put that thing away, Shere."

"You're the one who failed to provide a proper reception, John." Shere looked back at me and sighed, "And can you call your dog off this idiot? She's a little slow and doesn't understand you can get diseases from tick-infested animals."

The person, John, whistled and the dog cringed away from me.

I sat up and glared at Shere, "Are you asking for me to lose my temper and hit you?"

He shrugged, "I'd like to see you land a punch."

With a huff, I stood up and came to Shere's side. John finally stepped into my view with a smirk plastered on his face.

He was a pretty-boy, no doubt about that. The only thing that kept him from being mistaken for a girl was his broad shoulders and muscles. He had long, dirty blonde hair that fell to his shoulders in waves. His eyes were a light brown, almost golden color, and his face was nicely shaved. Even in the distance I could see his pale blue eyes that contrasted with his tanned skin. He was wearing a grey wife-beater that revealed muscular arms and grey sweats. He wasn't wearing any shoes, however, only white socks.

"You're as crude as ever, I see." John said, leaning on the stairs' railing, "How could you call such a pretty girl an idiot? That's no way to get her to sleep with you."

"Like I would either way." I growled, crossing my arms.

"Feisty. I like it."

Shere yawned, "You know why I'm here, John. Let's just get it over with."

John sighed, "You're no fun. Follow me."

We followed him up the stairway and down a narrow hallway that I hadn't seen. As we walked, we passed rooms without doors or even beds, but people in them. People with dogs cuddled up to them. The paint was chipping off the walls and there were holes in the floors. Dust caked everything.

"Who are the people in the rooms?" I asked, glancing at yet another rough look room with another person and dog in it.

"My customers." He said, "I provide cheap lodging for people without a place to sleep."

"Then what about the dogs?"

"They're rent out as heaters so people don't freeze to death. That's why some people call me the Dog Keeper."

We entered a room that looked a little better than the rest. It was done in several different shades of red, even the curtains being a dark shade of red. The wallpaper wasn't peeling off and the floor was taken better care of. A broken mirror was hanging from the wall John was heading to and the wall opposite to that had boxes stacked up against it. A couch was under the broken mirror with a low, square coffee table in front of it, a glass covering it.

John sat the gas lamp on the coffee table and picked up a thin slip of paper, resembling almost the things you could find in fortune cookies.

"I found a lot of good stuff when I was looking into your request, Shere. You'll have to pay extra."

The writing on the paper looked familiar. Without thinking about it, I snatched it from him, reading it.

It was Aaron's handwriting!

But how did he…

"Shere, did you send a note to my family?"

He cleared his throat, "It wasn't me. One of my cats happened to be passing through and-"

He was cut off by me wrapping my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug, "Thank you!"

I heard John snicker, but I didn't care. This jerk had a nasty habit of being a complete ass, but then he did things like this and there was just no stopping it.

"Hey now. Don't get all sentimental on me idiot." Shere groaned.

"Pft. Who's the idiot? The one who's true to herself or the one who lies to himself?" I muttered softly. So soft that he probably couldn't hear it. I pulled away and smiled at him, "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, okay? Now let go." He removed my hands and I sighed. He really was a jerk.

An idea suddenly hit me. "But if he can send messages here, then we can send them back, right? We can warn everybody about the parasitic bees."

John raised an eyebrow, "Parasitic bees?"

I nodded, "This is awesome."

Shere clicked his tongue, "Tsk. When you learn the truth about that Holy City, if you still decide to protect it, then you and I will be enemies."

My eyes widened and I looked at him, "What do you mean enemies?"

"You heard me." He said coldly before turning his gaze to John, "Did you find out what I needed?"

"Latch Bl 3F means Latch Bill third floor, but the building was torn down a long time ago so I can't know what was on the third floor. However, I do know a guy that has a connection with Latch Bill and he also has interesting connections to No. 6, so listen carefully."

John leaned in and whispered the rest in Shere's ear. I couldn't hear a single word of it.

When they were done with their secretive talk, Shere and I headed back to his house.

"What did he say?" I asked when we were out of the town's limits.

He shrugged, "You'll find out tomorrow."

I should've seen that one coming.

The place was warmer than I expected when we entered. Apparently one of the cats knew how to work the furnace.

"Which would you prefer? Sleeping with me on the bed where it's warm or on the couch where you could freeze?" There was playfulness in Shere's voice. He was teasing me again.

I glared at him, "I think I'll sleep on the couch and freeze. Not like a cold person like you could keep me warm anyway."

"Then you can use the cloak as a cover. It should keep you warm." He paused before going to the foot of his bed and rustling through the pile of books. "Here." He tossed me a soft, white pillow, "That plus the one already on it should be enough."

"How generous." I said, fluffing the dusted thing.

He blew out the candle light just as I sat down on the couch.

"Night jerk." I said, lying down and cuddling up to the white kitten that decided to sleep with me.

There was nothing but silence. He didn't bother replying, which, in all honestly, didn't surprise me in the least.


	5. Chapter Four

**Note's Trail; Ashton's Tears**

It was official. Shere pisses me off. He was so lucky he saved my life twice or I'd have to kill him. Maybe he saved me just so he could have the enjoyment of watching me suffer with the idiots that lived in this damn town.

The sun was shining brightly, blinding me terribly, and the mass of the people living there seemed to be crowded on the streets we were trying to walk through. I could no longer see Shere – he decided he was going to storm on ahead like some high and mighty jerk – and people wouldn't stop touching me. It was starting to seriously irritate me. And I may not have the best vocabulary, but I at least try not to cuss most of the time, and let me tell you, right now, what I wanted to do was cuss off the guy holding my wrist and shove him in a blender.

"Come on sweet lips. I'm sure with that pretty hair and unusual eye color you'd be a riot in bed." He said, the smell of alcohol filling my nose and making me gag.

"I wouldn't know." I said, struggling against his grip, "Could you _please _let go of me?"

"Oh really? So you're a virgin?" He laughed, "Looks like you'll have to pay me then."

Say _what_? Like hell I'm paying him for anything.

He pushed me against the wall and forced his lips on mine, shoving his tongue in my mouth. The bitter taste of rum was fresh on him and I pushed against his chest, getting him off of me.

"Look, I understand playing hard to get, but this is going too far. Just give in already."

That was it. With as much force as I could, I withdrew my foot enough to sidekick him. Thanks to his drunken stupor, he wasn't fast enough to dodge it. My foot made contact with his mouth and it started bleeding. That was my qù to get the hell out of there.

Quickly, I joined the crowd of people and followed in the direction I figured Shere had taken. That is, until I was snatched into an alley again.

Damn it all.

This time, it was a woman. Oh great.

She had long, messy hair that went down just past her shoulders. The unnatural blonde color was blinding me and her pale skin was helping any (not that I had any right to talk; my skin was probably paler than hers). The spaghetti-strap sleeve of her red dress was falling down her shoulder, revealing more cleavage than I wanted to see. She smelled of something sweet, like cigars, but reeked of too much perfume.

"I saw your struggle back there. I hope you're okay." Her accent made her hard to understand, but I got the basic gist of what she said.

"I'm fine." I said, guarded. It was extremely odd that someone would worry about me. I thought everyone here thought like Shere.

Her hand caressed my cheek and trailed down to the shoulder of Shere's shirt, "I see you're wearing men's clothing. Is it your boyfriend's or is it yours?"

"It's not my boyfriend's." I muttered, looking away. But I instantly regretted it. Maybe I should've lied to her.

"I see." She purred, "I overheard you telling that man about your… problem. Maybe I can help you out with that. I know a man that would pay good money to use you."

My brows furrowed. What problem?

She must have understood, "You know… you're virginity problem."

I groaned. Really? Was everyone here dead set on my virginity? And I didn't tell him that, he just assumed damn it! "That's okay. I'll be fine without-"

"I bet you don't even know how to kiss properly." She shook her head, "That won't do."

"Ugh! I know how to kiss okay?" Jesus. What was with the freaking interrogation?

She smirked, a sly smile on her face, "Then prove it."

I was about to ask her what she meant when she pushed herself on me and kissed me.

There was no hesitation. I pushed her off of me with more force than necessary and she collided into the opposite wall with a painful thud.

"What the hell was that for?" She hissed.

I forgot she was a girl. "I'm getting sick and tired of people touching me." I growled, "It's really starting to bug the hell outta me."

"Psh, whatever. Just pay up for the kiss and leave."

"Pay up? For a kiss? Like hell. You practically forced me."

Her eyes narrowed and she bent over to pull out a knife from her boot, "Pay up or I'll slit your throat."

Oh for Christ's sake.

"Sorry, but this girl's mine." I turned to Shere, who was standing at the beginning of the alley, "She's an idiot and doesn't really understand anything, so you'll have to excuse her."

I glared at him just as the girl crossed her arms, "I don't care. I still want payment for that kiss."

He grabbed her chin a little more roughly than necessary and kissed her, hard and without mercy. I watched with wide eyes as the girl struggled against him, trying to get him to stop at first, before she actually started tugging on his clothes to get him closer. Her eyes were clothes and a blush was forming on her cheeks.

He pulled away, "Keep the change." He said lowly, giving even me chills, and turned away, "Let's go."

I rolled my eyes and caught up with him, "What was that? Learn that in some porno or something?"

He snickered darkly, "Jealous? Maybe I should teach you how to kiss properly."

"As if I want to kiss you." I said, crossing my arms, "And where the hell were you when I need help with that damn drunk?"

He glanced at me from the side for a second, "I was right around the corner."

My jaw dropped, "You were behind the corner and you just let him…" My fists and teeth clenched. So help me God, if I murder this guy, I'll be doing the freaking world a favor.

A rock the size of a golf ball was at my foot. I glared at Shere's back and picked it up, chucking it at him.

It got the middle of his head. Hit.

He rubbed the back of his head and turned to glare at me, "What the hell was that for?"

"I don't know what kind of sick amusement you're getting from this, but I'm not finding it a bit funny. This whole I-hate-you-one-minute-and-I'm-going-to-be-nice-to-you-the-next is really starting to eat at my nerves. But under no circumstances do you leave me to fend for myself against some damn asshole that could rape me, understood?"

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and shoved me against the wall with enough force to make me cringe, "Listen up. I get that you're a pampered rich girl, but you need to start understanding that someone's not always going to be there to save your ass. You need to start learning how to take care of yourself the right way. That fighting that you learned when you were eleven isn't going to work on most of the people here so you better bulk up."

Things grew quite. I gripped Shere's wrist, but kept my gaze on his hand.

"Let go of me." Damn. My voice cracked.

I could almost feel his eyes widened, "Are you crying?" His voice was a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

My nails dug into his wrist, "Just let go."

He still didn't budge.

Finally, I looked up into his eyes. If they weren't wide before, they were now. My eyes were watery, but I wasn't going to cry because of this jerk. I just wasn't.

His grip loosened and my feet touched the ground.

"I get it, okay? I can't rely on you. I know I'm relying on you too much, but you can't just expect me to learn it all in one day." I grabbed his shirt with both my hands and buried my face in it, "And you can't let someone like that do what he wants to…"

I felt him sigh as he wrapped an arm around me, "I got it. I'm sorry. The next time something like that happens, I'll step in." His tone was gentle, "But you're starting some kind of defense training so you can take better care of yourself."

I took a deep breath and nodded, trying to calm myself.

"Found ya!" A gruff voice said, "Did you think that little stunt would be considered payment?"

"Oh look. He's got a girl with him. Interesting color hair, sweetheart."

Shere's eyes turned cold and he turned around. Two men were standing around us, both looking rather bulky and _very _pissed.

They walked closer, "Maybe if your bitch preforms a little task-"

Shere swatted one guy's hand away, using the other to nail the guy in the face. There wasn't a second wasted before his foot made contact with the other's head. "Run!"

I did as he said, bolting to my right just before some guy grabbed my shoulder. Shere wasn't far behind me.

We continued running until the shouts and insults stopped completely, which took at least a good mile or two.

"Those guys could run." I said, breathing heavily and leaning on my knees.

Shere leaned against a wall, "I thought they would give up a long time ago."

I straightened up, "Thanks for saving me."

He looked away, "I was saving myself." He nodded to the building in front of us, "At any rate, we're here."

I looked at the three-storey building in front of us. Well, it resembled a building more than the ruins that made up the hotel. In terms of falling apart, they were pretty much the same.

The arched entrance and the red brick walls were smothered in vines, crumbled places, and looked like it needed to be torn down just to look half-decent again.

"Someone's home." Shere noted, nodding up at the third floor.

The window was brightly lit, which probably came from an electric lamp. Meaning the building had electricity flowing through it. Rare for West District.

He pushed opened the wooden door and went inside. There wasn't a single sign of human life on the first two floors. The wooden staircase creaked loudly with each step we took and it seemed to echo through the entire building.

According to John, a man who used to work for Latch Bill newspaper was supposed to be living here.

When they reached the first floor, a woman came storming out and stomped down the steps, muttering things about 'good-for-nothing men' and 'assholes'. The door was left ajar, lighting the wooden hallway and showing it's carpet of dusty footsteps. Scattered along the hallway were several empty glass bottles. With the stench suffocating us, it was easy to tell what the bottles used to hold. In a dark corner of the hallway, stacks of cardboard boxes with papers over them and, of course, some empty cans here and there.

Shere rolled his eyes and pushed open the door, which was probably the only thing in the hallway that didn't look like it was about to break.

Inside, the room was well-lit with a large lamp, the brightest I had seen since coming to West District. The light coming from it lit every little corner in the room, leaving nothing in the dark. By the window that we had seen outside was a large desk, opposite to that was a large textile couch. The floor was covered with bundles of paper and books that were piled up or just thrown about.

"Are you Anthony?" Shere asked, "The old Latch Bill reporter?

A hard-looking man was lying on the couch. He sat up and looked at us, his dark brown hair falling in curls to his shoulders. He looked about in his twenties – no older than twenty-five. A grey bandana was wrapped around his forehead, covering only part of his thin, but bushy eyebrows, and he had a thin mustache and goatee going on. His brown eyes were warm, yet guarded at the same time – nothing like Shere's piercing gaze. He was wearing a white wife-beater – common attire in this place – that revealed several tattoos along his muscular, yet thin arms, with a pair of faded blue jeans. I noticed his shoes seemed to be in excellent condition, strongly contrasting with everything else he was wearing.

"Who are you guys?" He asked in a deep voice. He stood up and his eyes widened, a huge smile on his face, "Alex!"

Who the hell was Alex?

"Heh? So you know me." Shere answered.

"I'm a fan. A really big fan! I saw your play just the other day. A magnificent performance!" His face went serious, "But why are you here?"

"Your real name is Alex?" I asked in disbelief, turning to him.

He glanced at me, "Hell no. That's my stage name."

My eyes widened, "So that means you're an actor? Amazing! Why didn't you-"

He covered my mouth with a sigh, "Do you know a woman named Karen or a boy named Aaron?"

The man, Anthony, looked between us, "How do you guys know Karen?"

I moved Shere's hand, "She's my mother."

He tilted his head, "What?"

"I'm Ashton, Karen's daughter." I repeated.

He walked over to me and cupped my cheeks with his hands, leaning down to my face. I drew back slightly, but stopped when I realized that he didn't mean any harm by it.

"I see the resemblance. You definitely look like her. But I thought she had twins." He said absently. Soon, his eyes filled with tears and I had to blink. Such a gruff looking man crying? Weird. "Karen…"

Quickly, he moved to the window and pulled a pole with a hook on the end out of the curtains. He lifted it up and hooked it on a small screw on the roof that I hadn't noticed before. A staircase came with it and Anthony smiled proudly.

"Oh! Would you like something to drink?"

"She's sixteen. You're not trying to get her drunk, are you?" Shere said, mocking thick in his voice.

Anthony shot him a cold look, "Like I would even try. She's Karen's daughter, after all. Besides, I have other things to drink beside alcohol."

He was about to say something (probably some smartass comment that would irritate Anthony), but I stopped him. "Thanks. We'll have some coffee if it's alright with you."

He nodded, his eyes becoming warmer than they were when looking at Shere.

We followed him up to a fancy room, one much better looking than the one downstairs. There was a nice red carpet spread out on the floor, outlined by the wooden panels below it. Against one edge of the carpet was a black leather couch with a glass coffee table in front of it and at another edge was a black leather, reclining chair. Against the wall was a bookshelf with fancy decorations on it, such as an antic plate with pretty blue designs lining it's edges.

Anthony placed two mugs of hot coffee on the glass table and took a seat in the reclining chair. Shere made himself at home and plopped down on the leather couch, taking a sip of the coffee. I sat next to him and focused my attention on Anthony.

"How did you know my mother?"

He looked at the piece of paper in his hands and started shaking, "Karen… She remembered me… This isn't her hand writing… but it's close enough…"

I almost rolled my eyes as he cuddled to the paper against his face.

Shere nudged me, "Would you look at that. The guy's a teary drunk. Shouldn't you be embarrassed, old man?"

"What's wrong with being sentimental?" He growled, looking away from the paper long enough to glare at Shere.

I sighed, "Ignore him. Were you and my mom close?"

He relaxed again and his shoulders hunched, "She turned me down when I asked her out."

Shere laughed, "That's not surprising."

"You have a sharp tongue, Alex!"

"Just answer Ashton's question." He said boredly.

Anthony humphed and stood up with a glass of red wine. He went over to the bookshelf and picked up a rectangular paper and slid it on the table, "That's Karen and me. She was still a student when she came to see me about a column I had written about No. 1."

Shere and I leaned over to see the picture. A woman with short dark hair was smiling a shy smile at the camera. She was dressed in a sleeveless, pink dress. Next to her was a much more proportioned and weakling-looking Anthony, a boyish smile on his face as he knelt to the ground.

"What about No. 1?" I asked, sitting back against the soft couch.

"There was always something fishy about that place." Anthony said, "I was always digging around for information."

Shere smirked and leaned back on the couch, an arm casually draped on the back of it, "So you gave up your original suspicions to live a life of luxury. Just like the city."

"That's enough." Anthony snapped, "I was a big fan of yours, Alex!"

"Past tense?" Shere asked innocently.

"I stopped. Who would've thought that you would turn out to be such an arrogant prick?" He sat down back on the reclining chair, taking another sip of his wine before placing it on the coffee table.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, chief. Things aren't always what they seem. You should know that."

I looked at Shere, confused.

He snickered and continued, "Just look at this place. Pretty fancy for a Porn Magazine. You're pimping out girls to No. 1 officials, aren't you?"

My eyes widened. Prostitution in No. 1 was absolutely forbidden. If you were caught or even rumored to have done it, they locked you up for a year before kicking you out of No. 1. It was like it was a beautifully city on the outside, cloaked by some mask. Was it even beautiful anymore? Or was it just orderly and controlling?

"John told you, eh?" Anthony said, suddenly going completely emotionless. Both his face and tone were flat.

"Good nose for business you've got." Shere complimented in the same flat tone, "The people suffocating in No. 1 need to have some way to have a release. And the end result is you get to relax in a fancy house that no one would be able to find without No. 1's equipment."

Anthony snickered. Just the look of it made me sick. "Interested in teaming up?"

"Sorry. I'm not interested in hunting down girls."

His smile darkened, "That's not what I meant."

My eyes widened and I looked at him.

"People have some weird fetishes. You're a good-looking guy with a nice, model built. I'm sure there would be quite a few men lining up for you. As you know, things like that aren't allowed in No. 1 and you'd be the perfect candidate."

Shere returned the dark smirk, his eyes gleaming, "You want me to whore myself out?"

"Their appetites have no bounds. The job pays more than acting." His smile was cunning; it made my stomach churn.

"Are you insane? Is all the alcohol getting to your head, old man?"

"Oh just stop posing. It's not like you're any better." My teeth clenched and my nails were digging in my palms, "You're just as bad as I am. God knows where you've been. A wandering actor who just randomly shows up? I bet you've had your fair share of experiences in that department anyw-"

"Shut up damn it!" I shot off of the couch and rammed him with the coffee cup and the hot coffee inside. It hit him in his forehead. "You're damn insults are starting to piss me off! What the hell do you know? What the hell gives you the right to insult him like that?"

"It's the truth." Anthony defended.

That was it. I leaped over the table, grabbed his soaked shirt, and pinned him down using my weight, "Damn bastard. Even talking about shit like that is disgusting. Don't you have any freaking shame? And then you dare have the nerve to say that bullshit! What the hell do you know about him?"

Nothing but choking sounds came out of his mouth.

Hands slid under my arms and I was lifted off of him, dragged backwards to the bookshelf.

"Well that was a surprise." Shere murmured, holding me from behind. His voice actually did sound stunned. "I never thought you out of all people would resort to violence. Or even some of the colorful language in that. I mean I know you lost your temper with those officers, but that's completely different from now. He wasn't even talking to you."

"First time…" I said, breathing heavily. The rage was still boiling in me and I really wanted to punch the idiot again.

"I can tell. Your heart's going a mile a minute." He chuckled lightly.

I glared and ripped his hands off of me, turning sharply to him, "Stupid! Why aren't you angry?"

"Angry? Ashton, if I let insults like that get to me every time, I'd blow up all year round. I'm used to it. It's no big deal."

"Moron! What he said wasn't a joke, stupid! And don't say you're used to it! No one's ever used to it! Words like that hurt people!" My eyes burned. I was so pissed I was on the verge of crying again, which only pissed me off more.

His eyes widened a little before he shook his head. He cupped my cheek and started rubbing it with his thumb, "Idiot. Don't cry for someone else. You should only cry and fight for yourself."

I smacked his hand away, "I'm not crying." I mumbled.

He chuckled again, "Come on. Let's get home before you kill someone." He draped his arm around my neck and I nodded.

"Wait, Ashton! I'm sorry. I'll look after you. I'm sure that's what your mother wants." Anthony's pleading voice was heard behind me.

We ignored it. I didn't want to live with him, I barely wanted to associate with him at this point, but he knew my mom and he was someone she trusted so maybe I just needed to give him a little space and calm my head.

Maybe.

Shere's eyes landed on a piece of paper on the floor and he picked it up, instantly freezing.

"Who is it?" I asked. It was a picture of several people dressed in white, lab coats, with my mother standing in the middle.

He flipped the photo over. On the right hand corner the words 'founding members' were scribbled.

"Do you know one of them?"

He nodded, "One of them is my godfather."

My eyes widened and I stopped short. His Godfather?

"I'm taking this picture, old man. You'll get it back when I'm done with it." He said, walking out the door and dragging me by the hand with him.

* * *

><p><strong>I guess I shoul mention that this is a mixture of the anime and the novel. Just a little hint. And I'm working on pictures of everyone in the story. Be looking for a link on my profile if you wanna know what they each look like((:<strong>


	6. Chapter Five

**Familiar Kindness; Undoubted Obliviousness**

A kitten rubbed on my ankle and purred. I smiled down at him, "Hungry?"

He looked up at me and nodded.

"Just a little longer. Shere should be back soon."

The kitten meowed, a sign of impatience. I laughed. He was one of my favorites with his soft white fur and cute cherry eyes. I bent down and started petting it.

Suddenly, the door opened and Shere walked in, his face blank. He pulled off the black cloak and threw it on the bed before lying down.

"Where have you been?" I asked. When he ignored me, I tried again, "Does it have anything to do with that guy in the picture?"

"Stop pestering me." He snapped, spreading out on his bed.

"I just want to know." I said quietly. It wasn't so much the annoyance that plagued me, it was more of the cold rejection that hurt.

"Know what?" He demanded.

"Just you in general." He turned a little to look at me, "I want to know more about you."

I saw the annoyance flash in his eyes before he pushed himself up. I was a little worried he was going to throw me into a wall or something, but instead, he grabbed my wrist and pressed my palm flat on his chest.

"What do you feel?"

I blinked at him, confused, "I feel warmth. I feel your heart beating."

"Right." He said icily, "I'm alive and I'm standing in front of you. That should be enough." He tossed my hand away with enough force to cause me to fall to the ground.

"Ashton, you and I are strangers. Strangers don't need to know anything about each other."

I looked up at him, "And why not?" I demanded, losing my patience.

He towered over me, his dark t-shirt was a little wet and I could see the damp spots better. His boots and dark jeans were muddy too, meaning he had been somewhere away from here, near more water. "Because we'd become attached. We wouldn't be strangers anymore. You wouldn't want that happen, would you?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you wouldn't be able to kill me if we became enemies."

His words turned my body cold and I found my eyes widening involuntarily.

"Like I said. There's still a chance that after knowing the truth, you'll protect No. 1. If that's your decision, then you'll be my enemy."

I looked down at my legs, hair falling in my face. _You wouldn't be able to kill me if we became enemies._ The words rang in my ears, cold and hard. _You'll be my enemy._

I clicked my tongue, a nasty habit that he was giving me, "Like I'd kill you either way." I muttered.

"What?" He asked, looking down at me.

I looked up at him with narrow eyes, "You'd just have to kill me because I won't kill you."

His face was unreadable, which only irritated me more.

"Moron."

I stood up and opened the door.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going this late at night?" Shere demanded.

"What does it matter?" I sneered, "We're strangers remember? Or does that only work when we talk about you?" I was sure to slam the door.

The rain was freezing and the wind made me shiver. The black short-sleeve and grey sweats that Shere had lent me for the next couple of days wasn't as thick as it needed to be for this kind of weather. But it didn't matter. I needed some time away from him.

It was dark, so my balance was worse than usual. I stumbled down the hill, trying to keep from screaming at the sky.

Damn him. Just damn him. Why did he have to be so damn bipolar? I just didn't understand. It had been a week since the thing with Anthony and it seemed as if he was just getting colder and colder. Every day, he'd leave sometime in the morning for work and then go off somewhere, coming back in a worse mood each day. He never tells me where he goes or why he goes there, he just keeps it all to himself and then snaps at me for little things. It's like he's the only one who can know what the hell is going on.

Ugh. Whatever. It's not like I care either way.

A sudden bark startled me, causing me to lose my balance and trip over a rock (or my foot, still not sure which). Instead of falling in the mud like I expected, however, I fell into soft dog fur.

The dog barked and I straightened up, "Thanks for helping me." I said, laughing and petting it's head. "Pretty sad when you'd rather when talk to a dog than a human, right?"

The dog barked and wagged it's tail.

I sighed.

"Personally, I'd rather talk to dogs than associate with humans." A voice rang out in the darkness.

I looked up to see John smiling down at me, "It's a little late to be out on a walk, isn't it?"

"No. I happen to like the dark." I said, guarded.

He laughed, probably trying to lighten the mood, "I'm not going to attack you, if that's what you're thinking. I actually was sending that guy to ask you a favor."

I blinked, confused, "A favor? What kind?"

"A little birdy told me that you needed some help with defending yourself." He started.

"Where did you hear that from?" I asked. It was hard to believe that Shere would tell anyone anything, let alone something about me.

He smirked, "I'm known around West District as the go-to person for information. If I didn't know, it would be a shame to my job."

I crossed my arms, "So someone asked you to do research on me? Is that it?"

"Depends." He said, the sly smile still on his face, "How much is the information worth?"

I sighed, "Never mind. I'm not in the mood for your games." I brushed passed him and continued down the hill, the dog following me with his tail wagging and tongue sticking out.

"Come on, I was just playing. I have a proposition for you." He said behind me.

I turned to him and raised a brow, "What kind of proposition?"

"If you help me with the dogs three times a week, I'll train you on the other four days."

That would keep me out of Shere's way for a while. Although, I had kind of figured he'd be the one that would teach me, not some inn owner. I mean, could this guy fight as well as Shere? But then again, it doesn't have to be as well as Shere, it just has to be good enough to get me by.

I nodded, "Alright. It's a deal."

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow around ten, right?" He checked, grinning.

"Sure."

"Sleep well." He shot me a shining smile before whistling the dog over and walking away, disappearing in the night.

I blinked. You know, under all that dirt, he was actually a good looking guy. Especially when he smiled. If he smiled like that all the time, I bet even the high-class girls in No. 1 would date him.

Something soft rubbed against my leg and I looked down to see the white kitten purring.

"Hey there sweetheart, what are you doing out in this rain?" I picked him up and wrapped him in my shirt, "You'll catch a cold if you're out in this kind of weather."

He meowed at me.

"Right. I forgot you were a robot. Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

"He's making sure you're okay."

I whirled around to see Shere standing only a few feet behind me.

"When did you get there?" I asked, momentarily forgetting that I was mad at him.

"I've been here right around the time you fell." He said, clicking his tongue, "Shows just how oblivious you really are."

I glared at him and squeezed the kitten closer to my chest to keep from lashing out, "And it shows what a great stalker you are. Geeze. Ever heard of saying hi or something?"

He rolled his eyes, "Come on. If you stay out here any longer, you're bound to catch a cold and there's no way I'm taking care of you."

"Like I would want you to." I snapped, following behind him.

Freaking Jerk.

* * *

><p>"Don't take so long on one dog, Ashton. You still have over a hundred more to do." John yelled over to me the next day.<p>

Just after Shere left for work, I had come here to help John with the dogs. But thanks to his lack of care, the dogs' fur were matted and knotted beyond belief. I didn't even think fleas could survive in their fur.

I scratched the brown pug's ears and smiled at it, "It's your fault for having so many. Besides, don't you want them clean?"

He snorted, "They don't need to be spotless."

"Of course they do. You're renting them as blankets, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter." He shrugged, "All my customers are as dirty as strays anyway."

I turned from the giant fountain to look at him, "You shouldn't talk that way about your own customers, John. They're human too, ya know."

He blinked a few times before he started laughing, "Humans too? How funny! I don't think anyone's ever said before! You think they're the same as us?"

I nodded.

"You're the same as me?"

"Yeah."

His face went grim, "The people living in No. 1 are the same as us?"

"Of course."

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little before his face turned a little angry, "You're going to die if you actually believe that."

I shrugged and rinsed of the cute pug, "That's what Shere always says… That's right! Hey John, are you friends with Shere?"

He laughed, "Only an idiot would try to be friends with that heartless bastard. I just sell him information my dogs fetch." He paused and ran a hand through his hair, "I guess he does sing for my dogs sometimes, though."

"Sings?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded, "When a dog is on it's deathbed, in pain and suffering, he sings until the dog calms down and stops breathing. As gay as it might sound, his voice is peaceful and endearing. He may be an ass, but when he sings, it's like the wind."

I blinked. Shere can… sing? So not only is he an actor, but he's also a singer? I wanted to punch something! How many other things are there that I don't know about?

"That's what happened when my mother died." He said absently, bending down to rub a puppy's snout.

That pulled my irritation away, "Your mother's dead?"

"She was a dog." He confirmed, "A dog raised me until I was ten, feeding me her milk, keeping me warm, she was better than any human ever was."

"She was also a mutt." Shere's voice rang out.

John and I turned to Shere, who jumped down a pile of rubble.

"What did you say about my mother?" John growled. A few dogs near him perked up and bared their teeth. "I dare you to repeat it!"

There was a smirk plastered on Shere's face, "No need to get so mad." He said innocently, "What's going on here? Must not be doing much if you're telling Ashton your whole life story. That isn't like you."

"What are you doing here?" John demanded, his face tight with anger, "Don't tell me you got worried and came to check up on the Clueless Pretty Girl."

"Don't make me laugh." He said, "I just came to see if she was making herself useful, that's all."

"I doubt that." John spat, clenching his teeth. The dogs all stood up and looked like they were about to attack Shere.

Suddenly, something crawled up my back and onto my shoulder, rubbing against my face.

"Oh, it's Yuki." I said, petting his head, "How are you?"

John's and Shere's attention was turned to me, "Yuki?" Shere repeated.

"His name." I said, "Because his fur reminds me of the snow and yuki means snow in Japanese."

He groaned and smacked his forehead, "Don't name it, idiot!"

"You refuse to," I said, smiling at Yuki, "so I did."

The other two made themselves known, one crawling up to my other shoulder and the other rubbing against my ankle.

I laughed, "Oreo and Precious came too."

Shere's face was priceless.

"What? This one's Oreo because his feet and the top of his back are black, but the middle of him is white, just like an Oreo. And this one is Precious because she's small and adorable-looking."

He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, "Geeze. Talking to you gives me a headache." He grumbled, turning away to head back to the house.

"It's because you're always so irritable." I said, placing the kittens back on the ground.

"Why do you think I'm so irritable?" He growled, turning back to me, "You're the one who-" He noticed John staring at him and shut his mouth, stopping his self mid-sentence, "Never mind. Are you coming or not?"

I sighed, but nodded, "Sorry, John. I guess tomorrow, instead of you helping me, I'll finish washing the dogs."

John's face looked confused. He looked at me with furrowed brows, "Ashton, are you and him always like that?"

I turned to him, "Yeah. He always gets mad at me like that so it's nothing new. Why?"

"Because I've never seen him like that. That guy never shows emotions." He seemed to realize something and grinned menacingly.

I pretended not to notice and shrugged, "I guess he just can't stand me so much that he can't hold it in."

"I doubt that." He said darkly, "I seriously doubt that."

I blinked and turned back around. Whatever that guy was planning, I didn't want to know.

Shere was walking fast ahead of me, seeming to walk off his irritation or something.

"Hey Shere! Wait up, you jerk!"

He didn't even slow his pace when he looked at me, "What? Can't keep up?"

I glared at the back of his head and ran up to him, "You know, you didn't have to insult his mom like that. It was totally uncalled for."

He didn't say anything. His face stayed completely emotionless.

I was about to say something else when a small voice came running up to me, "Please! Help me! I don't think he'll make it!"

I looked at the little girl tugging at my sweats. Her hair was a pretty auburn color, shining a reddish brown in the sunlight, and her chocolate eyes were staring up at me with water brimming the edges. Her tattered clothes reminded me of the clothes that Shere was wearing the night he climbed through my window. It was basically a grey short-sleeve shirt with holes and mud dotting it. She was, of course, barefooted.

"Please!" The tears started spilling over.

I bent down, "It's okay, sweetheart. Just tell me what's wrong."

Shere grabbed my shoulder, "Don't fall for that kind of thing, idiot. Leave it alone."

I shot him a cold look, but quickly turned back to the little girl.

She started tugging on my sweats. I got the hint and followed her to an old oak tree. At the base of it was another kid, smaller than the little girl in size, digging at his throat.

Quickly, I dropped beside him and tilted his face up to mine. He was deadly pale and was clawing at his neck, his lips turning a cold blue color.

Suffocation. He was choking on something.

I rested his stomach against my right arm and, with enough force to make a sound, I thumped the boy's back with the palm of my hand.

"Spit it out. Come on." I urge, smacking his back again.

Three times.

Four.

Five.

The boy seized and threw up, whatever stuck in his throat was pushed out.

"Water! Shere, get water."

Without looking back at Shere, I put my cheek to the little boy's chest, feeling the faint, but definite, heartbeat. He was breathing. But he seemed to be out of it a bit…

"Call his name."

The girl looked at me before she looked back at the pale kid lying down, "Nicky? Nicky can you hear me?"

The boy's chest swelled and his eyes shot open, red with tears, "Sis!" He cried.

I stopped the little girl from jumping him, "Can you breathe, Nicky? Is something hurting?"

He nodded, "My throat hurts." He whimpered.

"Here." Shere said, obviously not pleased with me. Again.

I grabbed the glass of water and helped the little boy up, letting him rest against my arm, "I need you to drink this for me. Slowly."

He took a sip, but gulped down the rest and I laughed, shaking my head a little.

My eyes caught a round, black thing and I raised an eyebrow, "Why did you try to swallow a nut whole?" I asked out loud by accident.

"He was probably hungry. If those types of nuts are grounded, they're edible. I bet he was gathering them when he got so hungry he decided to put one in his mouth, which would've been fine if he hadn't swallowed it. But that's just my guess." Shere said, towering over me.

"Nicky's always hungry. Mama even has to give him extra pieces of her bread all the time."

Nicky crossed his arms, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout, "It's just a little piece. One bite and it's all gone."

I ruffled his hair and stood up, "Where do you two live? I'll take you home."

"They live just around the corner, not too far from here." Shere said, "Do what you want. I need to go do something."

I turned to glance at him and shrugged, "Fine. I'll see you at the house when you get back."

"Alright." He said curtly before continuing in the opposite direction of the house.

The little girl grasped the tip of my fingers and I looked down at her smiling face, "Thank you for saving my little brother."

I smiled, "Don't worry about it. Do you mind if I ask you your name?"

"My name's Lily." She said cutely.

Lily let go of my hand long enough for me to pick her brother up and put him on my shoulders, "Can you hold on to my head so you don't fall?"

He clasped his hands around the top of my head, "Of course I can."

I chuckled and grabbed Lily's hand once again, heading down the dirt path.

* * *

><p>The darkness enclosed around the tiger and he relaxed a little, trying to calm his agitated nerves. He was half-grateful to be away from that shambled place him and that girl called home – he really needed space at the moment. Actually, if truth be told, he was far away from the West District border in general. More than ten acres at least. The ruins he was sitting on was nothing more than a large, dark-cemented block that stretched out a good five yards. Pieces of the concrete rubble were scattered around the dying grass and made easy steps to get on his high pedestal. It gave him an entire view of a pristine lake that was untainted by No. 1's disgusting sewage – one of the few remaining in the area, simply because there was a thick fence surrounding it.<p>

He found himself sighing, making him cringe. He hated sighing. Sighing on purpose was one thing, but this kind of sighing, the kind that escaped his mouth without his permission, was irritating.

_Never sigh in earnest. Never cry. You'll be taken advantage of by monsters that claim to be human._ The words echoed in his mind, freezing an image of a bantered and bloodied body sprawled out on the dust covered road. _Sighing is a way to let people in, a vulnerability. If you want to stay alive, keep your heart shut and emotions locked up tight. Never let anyone see your weak spot. Never let your heart be taken by another. Never trust anyone but yourself._

They had been her dying words. She was shot once in the abdomen and again in the lung. The blood had spewed everywhere, covering the ground and his clothes in bloodstains. And even though the words had been said in a gasp and airless voice, he had heard every word loud and clear. Her voice had clung to his mind with determined strength, never letting him forget even if he wanted to.

Yet, he had turned his back on it. He let an unheeded sigh escape his lips and fill the silent sky.

_All thanks to her_.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Perhaps it had been dangerous to bring Ashton here. She had willingly followed that little girl without even considering the risks. Someone could have been using her as a lure to kill her or even kidnap her. He had seen the way some of the villagers had looked at her and it wouldn't surprise him if one of them tried it. Just last night he had overheard the conversation between John and the girl. Someone had been looking for information on her. Someone with enough money to do so. That wasn't going to be anything good.

Another sigh threatened to escape, but Shere caught it quickly, clamping his mouth shut. He glanced at the waning moon. But, if she had done what he would have, Nicky would have died. It didn't take long for someone to choke to death, let alone a small boy not even five years old. It took quick and accurate precautions to save someone in time and thanks to Ashton, he didn't have to see a small, dead frame twisted in pain on the streets. She had saved another life. One five years ago on a stormy night when she had taken him in and now Nicky, another stranger she had no attachments to. Both times, she took someone in recklessly and saved a life.

She was idiotic and reckless and didn't seem to care about her own self-preservation above those she thinks are worth more than herself. Shere still found that quality strange. Her view of other people's lives was above her own. They were worth more than she was. A petty criminal that could've killed her was worth everything she had ever known. A starving beggar was worth more than her safety.

She was definitely dangerous. He would no doubt be troubled with her around.

A prescience in the distant pulled him from his thoughts and he turned to another thick, rock platform with a fierce glare, "Who's there?"

A cynical laugh came from behind the platform and John came around the corner, "It took you a while to notice. How rare. Is something on your mind?"

His gaze returned to the moon, "What do you want?" He said coldly. He wasn't in the mood for his games. He wasn't in the mood for anything really.

"Don't play dumb." John growled, "You know no one gets away with insulting my mother."

Shere stood up, completely unfazed by John's furious tone, "Revenge? Against me?" He jumped down and walked towards the nuisance in front of him, "Don't make me laugh."

"By the way, about Ashton," Shere's arm twitched, but he resisted the urge to clench his fist, "She's definitely… weird to say the least. She has a way of throwing you off balance and confusing you, that's why I ended up telling her about my mother. And you insulted her just to piss me off." A grim smile spread on John's lips, "In other words, because she and I seemed close, you were jealous."

Shere glared and ran at him, missing his face by only seconds, "That's bullshit!" He growled.

"You lose, Shere." Dogs started surrounding him, growling and baring their teeth, "Those with something to protect always lose, wasn't that your creed?"

The glare stayed on his face, but he watched John with calm and calculating eyes.

John petted the head of a Rottweiler, "These puppies are watchdogs. You can't just take them in a straight-on fight." There was a pause for John to laugh like an evil lord, "Get him."

The dogs charged him. With enough force to shatter the dumb animal's ribs, Shere kicked it over the cliff, hearing a whine the entire way down. Another attacked his arm, but Shere just tossed it to the side, pulling off his scarf and running after John.

John whistled and two more dogs came from behind him.

"Move it." He growled, throwing his scarf at the animals' faces and tackling John to the ground, a switchblade to his throat. "Call off the dogs." He demanded, pushing the blade closer to the guy's throat. "Or else."

John smirked, "Or else?"

Shere's glare darkened and the blade was pushed directly against his skin.

"Shere!"

The sudden feminine voice caused his eyes to widen and his hand to freeze.

"Oh? The Clueless Pretty Girl is here to pick you up." His eyes glistened with amusement, "What will you do, Shere? Slit my throat and show her my dead body?"

Shere's hand shook. What the hell was he _supposed _to do? If he let John escape, he would be proving the bastard right, which could be deadly for both him and the girl. But if he killed John, Ashton wouldn't be able to take it. She wasn't ready for a dead body. He was sure of that much.

It was too late anyway. John noticed his hesitance and used it as his chance to grab Shere's wrist and kick his stomach, pulling the distracted guy off of him and standing up.

"You're not the same as you used to be." John snickered, "You're claws are no longer sharp." He turned to the girl running with an oil lamp, "This burden will drag you down."

Ashton made it just as John disappeared in the night, "There you are!" The girl's voice was filled with relief.

"What are you doing here?" Shere asked roughly, still not showing any emotions.

"It was getting dark and I got a little worried. Though, I guess there's nothing I could do to help you either way…" She rubbed her head, "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay."

He sighed, but caught himself and shut his mouth, flipping the blade close and walking ahead of her.

They walked in silence for a minute before the sound of the Moon Drop "crying" penetrated the West District. It sounded like a thousand souls crying in pain.

Ashton stared at the walls and, without looking at Shere, she said, "I'll never be able to forget Aaron." She said quietly, almost a whisper, "You can laugh at me all you want, but you don't understand the bond a person has with their twin. He and I are closer than my mom and I are. I could feel his anxiety about me missing and even now, even though he knows I'm alive, he's still worried sick about me. I can't just forget about a connection like that." Her eyes fell on Shere and his collected, emotionless eyes, "But I want to stay here. I want to live with you."

He resisted the urge to blink. It was a surprise to say the least. He was almost sure the girl would chose No. 1 over this dump, but then again, she was full of surprises. "You're reason?" He asked, still blank.

A strong wind caused her red hair to fly in the wind behind her and the moonlight made her crimson eyes glow, "You're a jerk and you get mad at me for everything. It seems like no matter what I do, it pisses you off. But even though you seem like you hate me, you do things like promising to protect me from another rapist or helping me when I was infected with that wasp." She completely turned to him, her face as serious as he had seen it, "In the five years after you disappeared without telling me, the only thing I could think of was seeing you again. I…" Shere could've sworn there was a red highlight on the girl's pale features, "I hated not seeing you. I'm drawn to you and I want to be with you. Even if it means putting up with your annoying habits."

Shere's eyes widened involuntarily and he clicked his tongue again. There was silence around them before he continued walking, "I've been thinking a lot lately."

Ashton tilted her head, "About?"

He turned to her with a smirk, "You're linguistic is worse than a chimpanzee."

Ashton ran to catch up with him, "What's that supposed to mean, you jerk? At least say it to my face."

He faced the road, the smirk vanishing. John was going to pay eventually.

He thought she hadn't noticed the bite marks on his arms, the running figure from earlier, or even his uneasiness, but he was wrong. The girl wasn't as naïve as she seemed at times.


	7. Chapter Six

**Another Confession; His Resolve**

"What were you doing there anyway?" Shere demanded, sitting down at the edge of his bed, "Especially at night without a weapon."

I ignored him and walked over to him. He moved a little, trying to keep the bloody bite marks out of my view, but he wasn't fast enough. I already had a hold of his hand, taking a look at the wound. "It needs to be treated." I said, turning around, "We don't want it to get infected."

Shere stared at me as I stepped over to the piano and bent down, picking up the first-aid kit he had taken so long ago. The things inside it were old and worn, but the disinfectant spray and gauze should be good enough.

I went to work without looking up at his eyes. There was no telling what I would find if I looked in them now. More than likely shock because I knew, confusion because I wasn't asking questions, and anger because I was butting in on his business again. But at the moment, my own irritation was enough for the both of us.

"No stitches?" He asked, his tone slightly teasing.

"Not this time." I said, spraying the disinfectant spray on his wound, "It didn't go as deep as it looks."

"I figured you'd stitch it up just because you could." He continued.

I chuckled, "No. There's no reason to waste supplies now is there?" I looked up at him, "What? Got a little nervous there for a minute Shere? Afraid I was going to stick you with a needle again?"

"A little is an understatement. With you, I'd figure I would get stitches for a bug bite."

"Jerk." I smiled, "I still think the treatment I gave you was appropriate for the situation."

That stopped his teasing. His face suddenly went unreadable, deep in thought. A few minutes ticked by and I grabbed the gauze.

"Do you really still think that it was appropriate?" He asked quietly.

I paused and looked up at him, "Of course." I said, confused. Why did he look so unsure? "You were on the run and I'd never done it before. What else could I do? Get my brother? Definitely not."

Shere shook his head, "I don't mean the injury. I mean the night in general. Do you think it was appropriate to take in me, a VC?"

I tied a knot in the bandage and finally looked into his eyes.

"Even though it changed everything you knew, can you honestly say that you don't regret it?"

"Yes." I said instantly.

He blinked, obviously not expecting a quick reply, "You don't?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I sighed, "I don't know what you're getting at Shere, but five years is a long time to think things over. The only thing I've done these past years is think about whether I'd still open the door. Would I do what my mom said and continued with my pampered life or would I open the windowed-door and wait for you?" I smiled a little and stood up, "Every time, I came up with the same answer: I'd open the door."

"Even if you knew your life would be ruined once you did?"

The first-aid kit was placed back in its place and I turned to him, "My life wasn't ruined." I said sternly, "I don't think me coming here ruined anything, except maybe your solitude. Isn't that right, Yuki?"

The kitten rubbed against Shere's injured arm and purred.

"I keep forgetting their names." He muttered. "You've only made it more difficult by naming them."

"Well they deserve to be named. They're cute, loving, and extremely brave. In fact, Yuki was the one who told me you were in trouble."

"Well he went to the wrong person. Even if you had come in time, you wouldn't have been any help." He said coldly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I had no fighting experience after all. It would probably just hinder him more than help him but still…

"I mean it." He said a little more roughly, grabbing my arm, "Don't think that you could ever be any help to me."

I stared at him unblinkingly.

His grip on my arm only tightened and his jaw clenched, "You're powerless, remember that. You don't have the skill or mentality it takes to actually fight. That brain of yours is meant for things like calculating and analyzing, so do yourself a favor and think things through. I don't even know what the hell you were thinking when you ran into the night without a weapon."

"I wasn't." I said, looking away from his glare.

He dropped his hand. "What?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything; not the situation, the danger, nothing. I was out the door before I could think."

He groaned and rubbed his forehead, "This is what I'm talking about Ashton. Don't do something so foolish and reckless."

"Then what should I do?" I demanded.

"Don't do anything." He said blankly, "There's nothing you could do anyway. Just act like I never existed or something."

I dropped my gaze and slowly shook my head, "I can't do that. I can't just sit here and think, knowing you're in danger. It doesn't matter if I think or not. I would've ran outside either way."

"You'd just be in the way." He said harshly. "Use reasoning before you get yourself killed."

"It isn't about reasoning, damn it!" I growled, causing Shere's glare to wipe away, "When Yuki said you were in trouble, I was terrified! I thought you were going to be _killed_! How the _hell_ do I calculate that in my head? How do I sit still and wonder if you're going to live or not? You might be able to act like you don't care, but I can't! Even if there's nothing I can do, even if I'm useless, I at least want to _try_. God! You're such a freaking moron!"

He avoided my gaze and I tried to take a deep breath.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" I demanded after a few minutes of silence.

"No reason."

I glared, "You want to laugh, don't you? I'm just some idiot girl who doesn't know anything about the real world, right? It's okay. Go on and laugh. Go ahead."

"Wait Ashton," He said quickly, "It's not like I'm mocking you or anything like that. I was just saying that it was dangerous-"

"I know that, okay?" I said hotly, "But I couldn't help it, alright? You act aloof all the freaking time and there's no way to tell if you really think what you say and then you do what you say not to do and it confuses me and then I end up worrying about you when you're gone because you won't even tell me if everything's okay."

"You're not making any sense, Ashton. Where the hell did all of this come from?"

"It's your fault I'm acting like this!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the bookcase.

A mound of books collapsed, causing Yuki and Oreo to hiss and hide behind Shere.

I blinked, breathing heavily. My eyes widened and I bent down to pick up the books, "Sorry." I mumbled, "I didn't mean to lose it."

"It's fine." Shere said lightly, "I have to admit it was rather alluring to see you worked up like that. Something I'd like to see again."

I shot him a glare, but sighed, "I never used to lose it that badly." I muttered.

"You've always been one to follow your emotions. Unless someone is hurt by them." He paused, "Of course, you don't care if _you're_ the one hurt by them." He said quietly, probably thinking I couldn't hear it.

I ignored the last comment, not entirely sure of what he meant by it, and put the books back in place, "I'll sleep in the bathing house tonight. You're wound will probably keep you up all night tonight anyway. The soup on the heater should be warm still, but you can always heat it up if it isn't."

He shook his head, "That's okay. You can sleep in here tonight. I don't want any food, I just want to lie down."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded, sprawling out on the bed as if to prove the point, "Yeah. Turn off the lamp and go to sleep."

I did as he said and curled on the couch, the super-fiber cloth warmer than usual.

"I really don't regret it, Shere." I said softly.

He sighed, "I know. I just don't understand why."

I opened my mouth, but closed it. I had revealed enough for the day.

Aaron sighed again, his breath fogging up the window. It was a little chilly in No. 1, so he was wearing a fairly thick sweater with some sweats he had found in Ashton's room. The girl loved taking his clothes.

"Are you okay?" His mother, Karen, asked, stepping around the counter.

He turned away from the window long enough to give her a worried smile, "Just thinking about Ashton." He said sheepishly.

She nodded, completely understanding his thoughts, "I'm sure she's fine."

It didn't sound like she believed it.

The bell on the door chimed and in walked little Athena. She was practically engulfed in a thick, pink coat with matching scarf, earmuffs, and gloves. Most of her golden curls were hidden in her clothes, except for a strand hanging in front of her green eyes.

"Hello Athena. How are you doing today?" Aaron's mother asked politely, putting on the smile that he couldn't stand.

The little girl looked up at her and smiled, her cheeks matching her red nose, "Do you have any more blueberry muffins left?"

Karen smiled, "We have one left."

Aaron watched as she pulled the last blueberry muffin from the display shelves and handed it to Athena.

"You really like those, don't you?"

Athena nodded enthusiastically, "It's what Ashy gave me before she moved away!" She said happily. "Do you know when she's coming back?"

Karen smiled sadly, "I don't think she'll come back, sweetheart. I think she likes her new home."

Her mouth turned down at the corners, "Why? Doesn't she miss us too?"

"Of course she does. She's just having a lot of fun where she's at." Karen said. Aaron could tell her voice was strained though. Neither of them actually knew if Ashton really liked her new home – or even if she had a home. Maybe she was thrown on the streets somewhere. Maybe she was starving. They didn't know.

Athena's smile returned, "I guess she'll come back when she gets lonely, huh?"

Karen nodded.

"Then I'll visit tomorrow too." She said with a cute nod.

"I'm sure she'd like that. I'll even make extra blueberry muffins for you."

"Thank you so much Mrs. Taylor!" She smiled before pulling her scarf back over her mouth and treading back out in the cold.

Aaron's gaze returned to the coldness outside and Karen sighed, plopping down in a chair.

This had become a daily ritual for the two of them. After hearing about his sister arrest, Aaron sat on the window paneling and stared outside while his mother sat in a cracked chair. They both knew with utmost certainty that Ashton would never be able to kill someone. Sure she lost her temper, but it had never gotten to the point where she'd lashed out at another person. Of course, even if they explained that, it wouldn't matter. In No. 1, where the crime rate was almost zero percent, there was no such thing as a trial. There were no juries or judges to prove someone innocent. If you were suspected, you were the culprit. Simple as that. If you doubted their judgment, then you were out of luck. Protesting wasn't allowed either.

Despair had filled Karen, but Aaron was almost sure she was still alive. He was joking with her when he had said that twins had a special connection, but he now knew it was true. When she had been taken prisoner, he had felt her anxiety. When those creeps had hit her in the stomach, he had felt the air get knocked out of him. He had proven Albert Drake wrong.

And now they had proof she was alive.

Aaron's hand clasped the thin slip of paper, clutching it tighter.

Almost three days after Ashton's arrest, a small black, grey, and white stripped kitten had found its way into the shop, curling up in between Aaron and his mother. In its small mouth was a thin piece of paper.

_Ashton's safe. Escaped to West District. Careful of Bureau surveillance. Any replies with this cat. -Shere_

Shere…

Hadn't that been the name that Aaron often heard Ashton mumble more than once? When she was staring out the window, when she was drinking hot chocolate, when it rained, even in her sleep she had murmured the name. Ever since the day they had been tossed in Lost Town, ever since he had walked in on her cuddling to a small boy, she had been saying that name. He had been the VC she had sheltered and it had cost them their lives in Golden Chrome.

Of course, neither Aaron nor Karen had said anything to Ashton about the incident. Although most of the city hated her for it, they didn't particularly mind. The life in Lost Town wasn't awful and it seemed to have brought their family together somehow, so, in a way, they enjoyed Lost Town much more than Golden Chrome. She had chosen feelings over knowledge and that made Karen proud and Aaron hopeful. Maybe he too could rely on something better, something that couldn't be explained. But even so, Aaron had once asked her about Shere.

_"Who is Shere?"_

They had been sitting on the railing of the cemented balcony, staring at the people walking by. A year and a half had already passed and Aaron couldn't hold off his curiosity anymore.

_"Huh?"_

_"Who is he?"_

When her mother had asked, she had simply told both of them that the name meant tiger in an ancient language, but that didn't explain the way she said it. A sense of longing had been laced in when she sighed the name, almost like she missed him. It definitely wasn't the way you would say an animal's name.

_"He… um… well he um…"_

_ "Did you get your heart broken by him?"_

_ "No, it's not like that. He would never. It's just… he… well uh…"_

It was then that Ashton had started tripping over her words, getting unusually tongue tied. Her hands started sweating and she continually balled them into fists. Eventually, Aaron had blown the subject off just so she'd calm down.

Shere…

Aaron's hand tightened on the paper. He could feel the corners of it going into his palms.

But it had been a little over a week since then and they still hadn't gotten a reply. The only place in their entire house that didn't have surveillance cameras in it was a medium-sized storage room in Aaron's room. Aaron had done a thorough search to be sure and he had found several in every room but that one. Apparently, they didn't find the room good enough for cameras, which was fine for the two of them. That was the one place they could meet the kitten that Shere would send.

"Meow."

Both Karen and Aaron's head snapped to the stairs before they shared a look. Aaron nodded his head slightly, trying not seem obvious as he stood up and started cleaning. Karen went to the stairs, trying not to hurry up them.

Sure enough, in the small storage closet, a small stripped kitten was sitting on a shelf, rubbing it's head against the wall.

Karen almost broke down in sobs at the sight. Quickly, she covered her mouth and stepped over to the creature, taking the note from its mouth.

It purred as she read it.

_Sorry Mom, Aaron. Alive and well. Love you guys._

It wasn't many words, but it was enough to make Karen cry. The tears slid down her cheeks and she held the small paper against her chest, falling to her knees. Her daughter was alive. She had written the letter in neat, half-cursive writing. It wasn't the writing of someone being coerced to write the simple words, she was alive and doing okay.

The kitten rubbed her knee and started purring.

Karen looked at the kitten and picked him up, rubbing her cheek against his soft fur, "Thank you so much, Shere."

Downstairs, Aaron was lazily rubbing down the tables. He knew it was more than likely a note from Shere giving them an update on Ashton and since his mother hadn't broken down in to hysterics, he figured he was right: She was still alive.

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled a little.

There was a rough knock on the door. It sounded almost demanding, like it was going to break the door down if it wasn't opened immediately.

Aaron's heart started pounded. Had the Safety Bureau seen something on their faces? Did they know? Were they there to take the notes away as evidence?

His hand trembled as he opened the door, but stopped short when he saw who was there, standing in the cold.

Dakota stood there, dressed in dark clothing. His dark jeans were faded in spots with a long-sleeve midnight blue sweater wrapping his arms snuggly. His brown hair had darkened somehow and his eyes showed determination.

"Dakota?" Aaron asked in disbelief.

"Hey Aaron. Long time no see." He said, smiling.

Aaron blinked and opened the door wider, "Come on in man. I thought you were at No. 2."

Dakota stepped in the house and shrugged off his jacket, "Yes, but my uncle passed away yesterday and I had to come back to claim the body."

Aaron cringed. Dakota's parents had passed away when he was only two, a few months after he was accepted into the Special Course. He had majored in the same thing as Ashton and was the only person that still talked to the twins after Ashton's privileges were taken.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

"There is, actually." Dakota said. He stared Aaron straight in the eyes, but his look wasn't that of grief. He wasn't rolling in depression or on the edge of a cliff, his eyes were blank. "Aaron, where's Ashton?"

Aaron's eyes widened just as his mother came downstairs.

Karen blinked at the newly found guest, "Hello Dakota. I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you were in No. 2."

Dakota nodded in response, but glued his eyes to Aaron's.

Aaron sighed but walked over to his mother with a smile, "Dakota and I need to _talk_, mom."

Karen widened her eyes only a fraction. They were both used to this by now, their subtle conversations. The signs, the warnings, they were both learning steadily how to keep what they really meant out of their words.

She slipped the piece of paper in Aaron's back pocket when he hugged her and nodded for Dakota to follow him.

Once Dakota stepped in the storage room with a confused expression, Aaron shut the door and turned to his friend.

"She's alive, isn't she? That's why you're trying to be secretive about the subject." He demanded. His tone was getting more and more anxious by the second.

"Dakota, what makes you think she's alive?" Aaron asked. Maybe he could save Dakota. But knowing him, there was nothing Aaron could say to deter him.

"Look at you Aaron. You may be thin, but you still look strong. You're not in complete despair and your mom was smiling at you. You two don't look like you've lost someone. I know you out of all people would be crushed if she was actually dead. She's your twin for god's sake."

Aaron smirked and shook his head, "Why aren't you majoring to be a detective again?"

Dakota smiled, but it was waning, "Please tell me where she is."

He stared into Dakota's determined gaze and reached in his back pocket, pulling the letter. He scanned it over, eyes widening.

Dakota snatched it from him, his mouth dropping open, "So she really is alive?" He whispered.

Aaron nodded, "She's in West District, but that's all I know."

He nodded and turned on his heel, but before he could reach for the handle, Aaron grabbed his elbow.

"What are you going to do with that information, Dakota?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dakota said quietly, "I'm going to find her."

His grip loosened on his arm, "But Dakota… it might be possible for you to leave the city, but coming back… you might not ever be able to return."

"I don't care." He said stubbornly, "I can't live here knowing that Ashton is out there in danger. I just can't. I don't even understand why they're calling her a murderer. She would never – she _couldn't _ever hurt anyone. It doesn't matter how mad she gets, she would never be able to hurt someone." There was a pause before he turned around and stared at Aaron, "Tell me. Does this have anything to do with what happened five years ago?"

Another sigh escaped Aaron, "Dakota, there's something you need to know."

He proceeded to tell the devoted teen about the night five years ago. He told him all about Ashton's decision to take in a fugitive, feeding him, clothing him. He told him about them sleeping on her bed together as if they were long lost friends. He also told them about the guards that haunted their house a few hours after the boy had disappeared. He told him everything, down to last detail. By the time they were done, both of them were sitting on the floor of the storage room, crossed-legged.

"The boy's name… Was it Shere?"

Aaron nodded, "I think. She didn't come out and say that was his name though. She wouldn't tell anyone his name."

Dakota hesitated. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer or not. "Do you… do you think that he's that important to her?"

"You need to understand something Dakota. I've never talked to the guy before. I saw him that night, but I didn't say anything. I don't know what he looks like now, I don't know what his personality is, but I do know that there was something about him that had Ashton interested. I mean, all these years and she still couldn't talk about him like it was nothing."

Dakota was silent for a minute, "Are you saying that I shouldn't get my hopes up?"

Aaron shook his head, "I'm saying that if you do go there and if you do meet him, don't be surprise if you see something different about her personality. The last time she met him, she changed. This time could be the same." Aaron paused, his voice getting quiet, "And there _is_ a chance that she cares about him more deeply than she'll admit."

"I know." He said, returning the quiet tone, "But I can't just sit around and wait like you and your mother. I can't just believe that some stranger I've never met before is going to take care of her. Besides, what if she never comes back, Aaron? What would you do? What if she stays in the West District her entire life?"

Aaron shrugged, though the gesture hurt him somewhere in his heart, "It's her decision. She's sixteen now and I think mom and I both expected her to go after him… Or him come after her."

Dakota shook his head, "I can't have that. I'll go there and make her remember what she has here in No. 1 waiting for her."

"Why would you guilt her into coming back? She also has warrant for her arrest waiting for her. She'll be put to death if she's caught. If she really likes it where she is, then leave it be."

"You know I can't do that. I'm too selfish for that. I want her to remember me. I want her to know that I'm here." Dakota swallowed, the defiant glint in his eyes solidifying, "I love her, Aaron. I won't let some person I've never met before steal her away from me."

Aaron's eyes widened, but he quickly smiled, "I know. Nothing I say will deter you. But remember that she cares about this person more than she knows, so be easy on her okay? I'll know if you hurt her too much."

Dakota nodded, "I'll make sure she's safe Aaron. I won't let her get hurt."

Aaron laughed a little, "The funny thing is, I don't think that Shere guy will let her get hurt either."

He stood up, his muscles tense. Dakota really hated the idea that someone else was protecting her, keeping her attention. Why hadn't she come to him? Weren't they friends? Why didn't she tell him anything?

Aaron put a hand on his shoulder, "She's Ashton. You know she doesn't like doing anything that could hurt other people. She was protecting you."

He shrugged off his hand, "Bye Aaron."

"Bye Dakota."

Dakota walked out of the closet, putting on the realistic smile he could. Aaron's house was bugged and he had to be careful. Spending a few hours in a closet with a man wasn't something that normally happened, but if the people watching thought they were in there for promiscuous reasons, then it wouldn't matter. People in No. 1 weren't judged for whom they were with – or even what gender they were with – as long as they were both law-abiding citizens. Of course, Dakota wasn't sure if Aaron was considered a law-abiding citizen, but it didn't matter. He just needed to get out of the horrid city.

He took the stairs one at time just to be cautious, keeping the boyish grin on his face before grabbing his trench coat and leaving out the front door. The air outside was cold, almost below thirty-two degrees, and he could see his breath in it. Thanks to his scarf, he was fairly warm, despite the poor way it was made.

His scarf…

The corners of his mouth turned down.

_"What do you want for your birthday, Kota?" A twelve year old Ashton asked._

_ Dakota shot her a strange look, "Since when do you get me things for my birthday?"_

_ She smiled, "Since this year. It's your birthday. We should celebrate or something."_

_ Dakota stared at her in confused, "Are you okay?"_

_ That confused Ashton, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"_

_ "You're just… acting different." He said._

_ The girl stopped, her eyes seeming to focusing on something he couldn't see. She bit her lip, a gesture Dakota had never seen her do, "We should celebrate your birthday because it means you're alive and warm." She grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes, though her eyes weren't seeing him, "Humans are alive when they're warm, you know."_

_ The next day came and went and before he knew it, it was his birthday. His uncle had baked a cake that Karen had had to help out with and they were all sitting around, Ashton and Aaron included._

_ "I believe you have something for him, don't you Ashton?" Karen asked, winking at her little girl._

_ Ashton smiled and handed Dakota an oddly wrapped gift. It was so oddly wrapped, he had to chuckle a little._

_ "Hush." Ashton said, crossing her arms, "It's not my fault that the bow wouldn't do as I said."_

_ He chuckled again and unwrapped it. Inside was a fairly large, silver-blue scarf. "Odd color." Dakota muttered, at a lost for something else to say. In all honesty, it looked like an expensive scarf. Hand crafted with fancy letters stitched in red. 'Kota' they read._

_ Ashton's smile was still in place, but her eyes drifted off again, "It's my favorite color."_

His eyes narrowed a little.

What had her eyes been looking at? Who was she looking for? Why did her eyes need to wonder when he was right in front of her? Why did she need to look at anyone but him? Was it this Shere character?

His fists clenched.

He wouldn't let Ashton be taken away from him. No matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm kind of only updating because some requested nicely, so here it is(:<strong>

**Reviews are a little required XD**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Cold Words; Unexpected Kiss**

The next morning, I sat near the giant fountain, scrubbing down a golden retriever. Since Shere had to go to work this morning, I had decided to come to John's Inn to work for a little bit of money as well.

It was unusually hot for mid-November so a loose, white wife-beater was all I was wearing with the same grey sweats that I went to bed in last night. My blazing hair was pulled back into a ponytail and, thanks to the lovely retriever, I was already soaked, the wife-beater sticking to my skin and showing the wrap I had covering most of my chest.

"I don't see why you would _want_ to understand him." John said coldly.

"Because I live with him." I said simply, "Besides, haven't you ever wondered what he was like before he came here? Or why he acts so cold and distant to anyone that gets close?"

He laughed, slapping his knee, "I couldn't care less. And it would probably be in your best interest to stop caring as well sweetheart."

"You're pretty knowledgeable for someone who doesn't care." A familiar voice said.

Both John and I looked over at Anthony, who casually stared at all the dogs. His eyes trailed to me before they widened, "Ashton? I didn't know you were working here."

"Of course." I half growled, "That's because you spent the entire time insulting Shere."

He flinched slightly, but laughed, "Right."

"So you're Anthony Barak? I hear you're making a good bit off of women." John sneered, a smirk plastered on his face.

Anthony shot him a glance, "Like you have any right to talk. I already know you're a runner smuggling clothes and food from the Correctional Facility to West District using those dogs of yours."

I looked at John, eyes widening, "The Correctional Facility? Really?"

"It must pay good." Anthony continued, both acting as if I wasn't there, "I bet you even had to threaten or bribe a janitor to make it work. Am I right?"

John ignored me, his eyes narrowing at Anthony. The dogs' ears stood up and the golden retriever I had been washing starting growling at Anthony.

Seconds ticked by and the two continued to glare at one another, trying to get the other to crack and admit defeat.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to distract them.

They both looked at me before Anthony sighed and pulled a flask out of a pocket on the inside of his fancy trench coat, "I need information."

John leaned back, relaxing a little, "It might cost you a good bit."

He shrugged, "I can pay in goods."

"Alright." John agreed, "What is it that you want to know about?"

"I've heard some strange rumors about mysterious deaths in No. 1." Anthony started, "It seems as if the residence of No. 1 are dropping like flies and No. 1 officials are trying everything they can to cover them up with accidents and murder cases." He looked at me, "Apparently, they're telling everyone that you and Shere are the cause for it, though they don't say Shere's name specifically."

"The parasitic wasps…" I breathed.

"Ashton, I remember you saying something about them when we first met. What are they exactly?" John asked.

My fingers trailed along the bottom of my eyes, "My eye color, my hair color, it's all a result from my encounter with a parasitic wasp. It was thanks to Shere that I survived."

Anthony shook his head, "Do you know how people get… infected?"

I shook my head, "All we know is that it happens without the victim knowing and it kills quickly."

"Parasitic wasps that kill silently." John laughed, "Only No. 1 would have such a disgusting virus going around."

"It seems as if it's getting worse." Anthony said, "They have the entire town out looking for you and Shere, but they know they're never going to find you two because it's actually not you're doing."

I crossed my legs and brought my finger to my lip. Damn. Winter was rolling in yet they were still going strong. If that was the case then maybe we didn't have as much time as I thought…

Double damn.

I ran a hand through my hair just as Oreo came running to me, jumping over Anthony's lap. Anthony shrieked and fell backwards into the pond, causing us to laugh.

"W-w-w-what t-the hell is t-t-that?" He stuttered out, looking terrified.

"His name is Oreo." I said, rubbing the black and white kitten, "He's one of Shere's pets."

They both looked at each other before John raised an eyebrow, "Shere has pets?"

"You mean you've never noticed the cats following him around?" I asked incredulously.

Anthony looked thoughtful, "I guess there was a dark, black, white, and grey striped kitten that crawled up to him about a while ago. It caused him to run out of the play in the middle of the performance."

Did I do anything to cause that? I mentally shook my head. I wasn't here until a week ago. It couldn't have had anything to do with me.

"Meroooow." Oreo said lowly.

I looked down at him, "How odd. He's not usually so… grouchy."

John snorted, "He's Shere pet. What do you expect?"

I shot him a cold look the same time Oreo hissed at him.

John's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.

I drew my eyes to the kitten in front of me, "What's going on?"

The cat rubbed against my thigh and turned in the direction of Shere's home.

"Is Shere in trouble?" I asked alarmed.

He shook his head and started running.

"I'll be back in a little bit, John. I'm sorry." I said, standing up and following after Oreo.

The streets of West District were unusually crowded and I was having a hard time avoiding people. A few threw cuss words at me when I bumped in to them, but I ignored it. The rough language was just something you had to get used to if you wanted to survive in this place. That was one thing I was starting to understand at least.

Suddenly, he stopped and started hissing, his back arched with his tail sticking straight in the air.

"What's gotten into you today?" I asked, breathing heavily. I followed his gaze and my eyes widened.

Dakota stood there, his entire body seeming to tense. He was wearing the brown, short-sleeved shirt I had gotten him for his birthday with a pair of dark, slightly ripped jeans. His dark brown hair was flattened down from sweating; the sweat marks evident on the shirts darkened colors.

"Ashton?" His voice was filled with disbelief.

"Dakota?" I responded with the same tone.

"What happened to you?" He asked, stepping closer.

I took a step back, my eyes never leaving his dark brown ones, "What are you doing here?"

Oreo stood in front of me, a sound resonating deep in his throat. It sounded like a mixture of a growl from a bear and a hiss from a snake. Another kitten, one that I hadn't seen since it interrupted my conversation with Dakota, came running towards us. It was a little wet and its white paws were stained brown with mud, but I could still make out the grey, white, and black stripes on its tiny body.

"What am I doing here?" He asked incredulously, "You're name and picture is plastered everywhere in No. 1, everyone's saying that you killed your coworker, your house is under surveillance, and then your brother tells me that you've been taken to West District." He shook his head, "Not to mention the reason you lost your privileges? And now your hair is bright red and your eyes resemble blood? What the hell happened to you?"

"I know it looks bad, Dakota, but it really isn't. Besides, that still doesn't explain why you're here." I said, trying to hide my surprise and worry. If he was here, that probably meant he just walked out. The possibilities that someone had followed him or bugged him were extremely high. Shere could be found out.

"I'm here to remind you that there are people in No. 1 waiting for you. Aaron and your mom are worried sick over your disappearance. They're not sure if you're going to live or die out here." He said, his voice was unusually spiteful. His temper was sparking.

"I know. But what else can I do? If I go back, they'll be in danger." I shook my head, "_You're_ in danger. You need to go back before they lock you out of No. 1 completely."

He groaned and muttered something under his breath, "I'm not leaving you here in this town with some stranger that you don't even know. The guy was considered a murderer in No. 1. He could be dangerous."

"I'm considered a murderer by No. 1 too." I said, "Do you believe them when it comes to that?"

"No, but-"

"He's not a murderer." I said firmly, "The reason they arrested me wasn't because I was a murderer and the reason they arrested him wasn't for murder either."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's the reason you're out here!" He yelled, obviously losing his composer.

"Why are you so against him?" I growled, "What did he do to you? I thought this was about me coming here, not about him."

"Well it wasn't about him until I saw your hair and eyes. Just look at what he's done to you!"

I grabbed a handful of the red hair and narrowed my eyes, "This is a result of him saving my life for the second time! You have no right to come here and start criticizing him. And for your information, he didn't ruin my life! It was _my _decision to let him in and I _don't_ regret it. He would've died without my help!"

"You should've let him." Dakota said coldly.

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open a little. How could he say that? Where did this cold demeanor come from? Sure he lost his temper sometimes, but he was never this heartless.

My fists clenched and I looked down at the still-growling kittens, my hair falling in my eyes. "Go back, Dakota. I don't need you here."

He cringed, "Listen Ash, I didn't mean- It just sort of slipped out. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

I turned around without looking at him, "Just go. You belong with them." With the control-freaks that thought an innocent child deserved to be locked up. With the monsters who thought Shere needed to die.

I heard footsteps behind me, probably following after me.

"What's going on here?" Shere's voice was behind me.

I turned around to see him holding Dakota's wrist, obviously trying to stop him from touching me.

"What's it to you?" Dakota spat, still pissed.

Shere raised an eyebrow, face completely wiped of emotions, "Nothing really. I just don't like people yelling near my house."

Dakota's eyes narrowed, "Is this him? The criminal that ruined your life?"

"Oh Jesus Christ." I growled, "Will you stop saying that? I told you before, he didn't-"

"And what about it?" Shere interrupted. "Are you going to do something about it?"

Dakota's jaw clenched, but he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

"That's what I thought." Shere said, tossing his wrist aside. "Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't see why I have to tell you." Dakota growled.

Shere's eyes darkened, a scowl forming on his face, "Are you asking for a fight?"

"Maybe." Dakota returned the glare.

I stepped between them, "I'll take Dakota to John's. Maybe John will have a room for him."

Shere clicked his tongue, "Tsk, do what you want."

I sighed at his retreating back and looked at Dakota, "Come on."

Things were silent as we trailed down the hill. He had known me long enough to know that it was better not to talk to me when I was angry with him and right now, I was beyond furious.

Only when we got to the busy streets of West District did he decided to talk.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

I glanced back at him, "We're going to an Inn. I know the man that works there and I might be able to get you a room for free."

He sighed, "I already said I was sorry. What else do you want from me?"

I ignored him, too infuriated to even argue.

When we got to John's Inn, they were still sitting there, Anthony included. Several dogs came to greet me and I tried to smile for them.

"Take care of that rodent?" Anthony asked roughly. When he saw my expression, he rubbed the back of his head, "I meant to ask if you found out what the cat wanted."

John looked over, "Who's the guy?"

"This is Dakota." I said, gesturing towards him with my hand, "I was wondering if he could have a room."

"How much money does he have on him?" John asked, jumping off of the fountain's edge.

"Well, I don't think he has any money on him." I said, "But he could wash dogs with me as payment. Or I could pay with the money you're giving me."

"Gorgeous and kind." John laughed, "Are you sure you want to continue living with Shere? It's such a waste of your wonderful qualities."

I rolled my eyes, but managed to crack a smile for him. It wasn't often that I heard a compliment. "Thanks, but it's not as bad as you seem to think."

He snorted, "That's what you keep saying, but I'm having a hard time believing it." He walked over to Dakota and examined him, "Alright. I'll let him stay here and I'll even through in a dog as a heater, but he has to wash the dogs with you at least once a week."

I nodded, "Thanks John."

He shrugged and sent a wink my way, "Anything for you Ashton."

I looked at Dakota, "You can finish my job for today. I need to get back to the house."

"You mean you're going to leave me here with people I don't even know?" He asked incredulously.

"You're lucky I'm not leaving you with murderers." I hissed, turning on my heel and heading back towards the hut.

* * *

><p>Shere was going through the bookcase when I got home. Instead of the dark colors he usually wore, he was wearing a white long-sleeve that formed a little too well with his biceps with light blue jeans that were dotted with holes of various sizes.<p>

He glanced at me, "Take care of that problem?"

I sighed and collapsed on a wooden chair, "He's not a problem, just an asshole."

Shere chuckled, "That's basically the same thing."

"Yeah. John's allowing him a room."

"How kind of him." He said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I rolled my eyes before closing them and leaning against the back of the chair. "Anthony said something about mysterious deaths in No. 1."

Shere leaned against the bookcase, flipping through the pages, "And you think it's the parasitic wasps?" He guessed.

I nodded, "If they're active before the Spring, once it all begins-"

"-what will happen to No. 1?" He mused, guessing my thoughts, "It should make quite a show. Will the greatest of actors make the greatest of tragedies or the greatest of comedies? I can't wait to find out."

"My family's in that city. I can't sit in the audience." I said, looking at him.

"So you're going to return to the city?"

I nodded, "At least once before Spring. Maybe I can create a serum before something too awful happens."

"You genius types are so noble." Shere mocked, smirking a little, "But tell me, how are you going to create a serum without a single beaker or syringe?"

"I was thinking about asking Anthony to get them for me." I said thoughtfully, "Between him and John, they should be able to get something…"

I heard the book slam shut and looked up in time to see Shere walking towards my chair, kicking the edge of it. I fell on the floor with a painful thud, rubbing my head. Quickly, he pinned my waist with his legs and wrapped his fingers around my throat, tight enough to make it hard for me to breathe.

"You won't put up a fight?" He asked, his voice hard and cold.

I looked up at him, "There's no point."

His eyes matched his tone, "It's a little early to give up. I thought you wanted to live."

"Of course." I mumbled.

"You don't think I could bring myself to kill you, is that it?"

"Yes."

His eyes widened before he chuckled darkly, letting go of my throat. He flipped open his pocket knife and placed the tip of it at the bottom of my chin. "Don't get too cocky. That isn't why I saved your life." The tip nicked my skin, causing it to bleed a little, "Don't stick your nose where it's not wanted. Sit tight and wait for the time to come."

"Until what time comes? When will that be?"

"When I've finished destroying No. 1." He removed the knife and closed it, his other hand running along the bottom of my chin with his thumb, "This is your blood," He said, showing the blood on his thumb, "Don't waste it on some stupid serum. Find a better use for it."

He attempted to help himself up, but I grabbed his wrist just in time, "Why do you hate No. 1 so much?"

He tossed my hand aside and stood up.

"What ties you to that city?" I continued, sitting up.

He continued to ignore me, heading to the door.

"It has something to do with the burns on your back, doesn't it?" I stood up and followed him out the door.

It was drizzling outside and the temperature seemed to have dropped a considerable amount within the last hour or so, but that didn't bother either of us. He continued through the yard, trying to ignore me.

I ran in front of him and faced him, face hard, "Last time I asked, you brushed it off, but this time I won't let that happen. Tell me why you can't stand that city."

"I told you. That city sucks it's surrounding areas dry-"

"You keep saying it's a parasitic city, but I want to know your personal reasons. Is it for revenge?" I guessed, stepping closer to him until I was directly in front of him, "I want to know, Shere."

"No. 1 or me. Make your choice." He said coldly.

My eyes widened and I froze.

His glare softened a fraction, "You love No. 1. I hate it. That's why we're doomed to be enemies."

"You're wrong." I shook my head, my voice softening, "It's not No. 1 that I love, it's the people in it."

He nodded and walked around me, "You'd never choose a rundown city over that Holy one. You're just wasting your time trying to fight the inevitable."

He brushed passed me, arm rubbing against mine, and my fists clenched. No. 1 was where I grew up. It was where my mother and brother lived, my _twin_ lived there. I couldn't let that go. I just couldn't. But if I let him walk away now, his words might come true and he might consider us enemies. I wouldn't be able to see him or talk to him anymore. The tears burned my eyes and I whirled around in time to catch his hand.

"You." I breathed, the tears running down my cheeks as I looked up at his wide eyes, "I choose you."

Without missing a beat, my hands ran along his shirt, grabbing his sleeves. The muscles under them tightened, but he made no move to stop me. I stared up at him, his eyes staring at me, wonder hinted in them. Slowly, I pulled on his sleeves and he leaned down just as slow. When he was in my reach, I stood up on the tip of my toes and pressed my lips against his. Just a light pressure.

I expected to be pushed away. I even half expected him to yell at me. But never did I expect what happened next.

Shere wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My hands trailed around his neck in response, locking me against him. His hands found their way to the base of my back, pushing up my shirt just enough to feel his rough palms on my bare skin. Things melted away. The anger, agitation, all of it seemed to disappear as his lips moved in a slow and deliberate rhythm, igniting every cell in my body. His thumbs slowly circling against my side, his body against mine, it was such a strange feeling that I'd never felt before. It was like everywhere he touched was set on fire; completely maddening.

His lips closed on my bottom lip, causing me to unconsciously open my mouth a little. Softly, his tongue ran along my parted lips before gently pushing through, wrestling with mine.

The rain continued to pour, making kissing smoother, yet masking it at the same time. It mingled with the taste of his natural scent, intoxicating me and making me light headed. Nothing was coherent. Science, Math, it wasn't an equation. This was Shere. The only thing I knew at the moment was him.

But as quickly as it started, it ended.

Shere pulled away, breathing unusually heavy, "Shit." He muttered, running a shaky hand through his hair, "Shit."

I stared up at him in bewilderment, shaking and breathing as bad as he was.

"I need to go." He said.

I nodded, afraid of what my voice would sound like if I talked.

Quickly but gracefully, Shere turned around and continued down the hill, leaving me staring up at the crying sky.

* * *

><p>Shit.<p>

The word repeated over and over in his head.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What the hell happened back there? He still wasn't quite sure. One minute he was angry with her and the next he was kissing her. _Kissing_ her. Another cussword escaped his lips.

In truth, it wasn't his fault – she was the one who had instigated it – but still, he hadn't pushed her away. And he even kissed her back.

He stopped and rubbed his forehead, the icy drops running down his face.

He was losing sight of his priorities. The girl was messing with his head.

_I choose you._

The words echoed in his head. Her red eyes watering and the look of fear in them wouldn't get out of his thoughts. What had she been afraid of? Had he scared her? His tone had been a little harsher than usual, but it was necessary that the girl learned that she was more important than some serum.

_You. I choose you._

He ran a hand through his hair, still a little shaky from their kiss.

Honestly. It was one girl. How could it affect him this much? He had been with several girls before – something that he often tried to forget – so what the hell was different this time? Maybe he was getting sick or something.

"Yo." John's voice startled him.

"What the hell do you want?" Shere snapped unintentionally.

"Woah." The boy said, hands up in defense, "I'm here for Ashton. No need to yell."

He took a silent breath, trying to control himself, "She's at the hut."

"I figured." John sighed, but it was quickly covered with a devious grin, "Speaking of Ashton, are you putting the moves on her?"

Shere rolled his eyes, "Like hell."

He snorted, "Don't even act like you're not attracted to her. She's the only decent-looking woman around here."

He started rubbing his forehead again, his headache from earlier coming back, "What do you need to tell Ashton, John?"

"Right." He straightened up, going serious once again, "Her friend, Dakota I guess is his name, was working for No. 1 before he came here. Apparently, that's the only reason he was able to get out. They allowed him out because he convinced them that he would bring back the murderers. Thanks to that Anthony guy, I believe he's talking about you and her."

Shere's jaw locked, "Are you sure about that?"

John nodded, "One of my contacts told me about it. The girl's capture is worth a lot of money in No. 1, whether she's dead or alive. Hell, if I didn't like her, I'd probably take her myself."

He shook his head, "I meant: Are you sure he's here just to turn her in?"

There was moment pause for John to think about it, "Not entirely, no. But I thought it'd be best if I warned you two nonetheless."

Shere crossed his arms, being extra careful to emphasize the muscle underneath his now-soaked shirt, "Why are you telling me this? It's rare for you to go out of your way to share this sort of information for free."

"I'm doing it for Ashton." John said, "That girl's a weird one. She would trust a No. 1 assassin if he said he was turning a new leaf."

There was no arguing with that.

"Alright. I'll tell her." He turned towards his so-called house.

"Shere, there's more."

He half-turned to John, waiting.

"If it turns out that he isn't here for the reward money, then you should be more wary."

"Why?"

John snickered, his hair hiding the amusement in his eyes, "Because it would mean that he's here to steal Ashton away from you. Because he loves her."

Shere shrugged. That piece of information wasn't surprising. He had overheard the pathetic kid's proposal to have sex, which Ashton shot down. Something as pitiful as being in love her didn't surprise him.

But it _did_ piss him off for some reason.

"She's not mine." He said, "She's just a girl that's living in my house."

John openly chuckled this time, "Okay Shere. You may be a heartless bastard, but even you have your weak spots. And that girl is one of them, if not the only one."

He clicked his tongue, "Whatever. Believe what you want."

John snickered, but disappeared into the dark and Shere turned around and headed back to his house.

When he got back, Ashton was laying on his bed with a book in her hands and the white kitten (whose name he couldn't remember) on her lap. He noticed the book she was reading was the one he had sat down before their argument.

"Welcome back." She said, smiling at him.

"Yeah." He muttered, stepping into the house and sitting on the edge of the bed.

She studied him for a minute before closing the book gently, "What's wrong?"

He almost laughed. Was his emotions becoming so obvious that even a clueless girl like Ashton could figure them out? But instead, he settled for looking at her, trying to blank out all the emotions on his face, "That boy, the one that showed up here today, have you talked to him?"

Something flashed in her eyes. Anger perhaps? "No." She said, "Why?"

"Because John thinks he's here to take you to No. 1 for a reward." He said bluntly. There was no beating around the bush. This was reality and she needed to know. "Our capture is worth a lot of money in No. 1."

Her eyes darkened, something that Shere had learned was another side effect of the wasp infection – her eyes always showed her emotion. When they darkened, her emotions were more than likely anything from anger to sadness, and when they lightened, they could be anything from happiness to excitement.

She slammed the book on the table, "Where did John here that from?"

Shere shrugged, enjoying her anger fit just a little, "One of his 'contacts' told him about it. Probably a No. 1 official or something."

Her eyes tightened and she sat up, "I'll be back."

"Idiot. Where do you think you're going?" He asked, watching as she paced the room a little, her tiny hands clenched.

"I'm going to ask him." She stated simply, picking up the white kitten, "I'll get the truth one way or another."

Shere smirked at the thought of _her_, out of all people, trying to get information out of someone forcefully, "It's dark. Besides, what if he really _is_ here to get you? You'll be in danger if you're alone with him."

"You obviously don't know Dakota." She said darkly, "My fighting skills may not work with the people here, but they're enough to take care of that guy."

Shere raised an amused eyebrow. Honestly, her rage shouldn't entertain him as much as it was, but it couldn't be helped. "I'll go with you."

She looked at him, surprised, "Really?"

He shrugged, "It's better than having John running here because you were kidnapped."

She rolled her eyes but smiled at him, "Thanks."

"It's nothing." He cleared his throat, "Let's just go."


End file.
